Cloudy Days and Sun Rays
by universesalternating
Summary: THG AU: Katniss and Gale win the 73rd Hunger Games. When Prim is reaped for the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark volunteers in her place.
1. Prologue

In the 73rd Hunger Games, two tributes stand on the edge of a tall building. Their hands clasped together like they were when they rode the chariot in the parade. Before they have the chance to jump off, Seneca Crane's panicked voice booms through the city of ruins.

It is the first time in over 20 years that District 12 has won the game.

It is the first time ever that there have been 2 victors.

Gale Hawthorne and Katniss Everdeen are the victors.

The two burn wherever they go. Their victory tour incites rebellion. Even when they try to cover everything in declarations of love, it does not do much. They get engaged when they get to The Capitol, but that doesn't change the rebellion brewing in the districts.

Snow wants to douse their flames.

The reaping for the 74th Hunger Games comes too quickly.

Another Everdeen is reaped.

Before Prim can be collected, a hand shoots up and a young women shouts, "I volunteer as tribute!"

Everyone is silent as Peeta Mellark walks onto the stage.


	2. Chapter 1

Peeta Mellark has loved Katniss Everdeen since she was young.

Originally she had thought it had been some sort of envy towards the other girl, but as Peeta matured, she realized what it was. She was madly in love with Katniss Everdeen. And even though she knew she could never tell the other girl, Peeta knew she would love the brunette until the day she died.

There are little memories that Peeta cherishes when she thinks of the archer.

The first time Peeta heard Katniss sing is one of them. She can still remember how it seemed like every thing went silent when Katniss began. The whole room was Katniss's stage and she shined. Peeta knew nothing would ever sound as good after that.

Any time Peeta saw Katniss and her sister also were things she wouldn't forget. The smiles that Katniss only shared with Prim were some of the most beautiful things Peeta ever saw. Even though the brunette would make her face impassive nearly all the time, when she was with Prim, Katniss showed more emotion.

Even though Peeta was punished for what she did, she would never regret burning bread for Katniss. The grey-eyed beauty had looked so broken when she lost her father. Peeta didn't know what she could do to try to help her, but then one day Katniss showed up behind her home. With her face stinging as she trudged out the the pigs, she already knew where the bread was going to go. She quickly ran back into her house before she saw what Katniss did.

There were million of other memories Peeta had of Katniss at school, Katniss with her bow, and even Katniss at reapings, when she would wear her mother's dresses.

Under Peeta's bed was a sketchbook full of drawings of Katniss.

When Katniss was reaped, Peeta felt her heart shatter. She didn't know what to do, but it wasn't like she had much of a choice. She watched the games horrified. She snuck cookies to Prim for her and Gale's siblings.

She filled her sketchbook with drawings of Katniss. Katniss on the chariot, Katniss on fire, Katniss during her interviews, Katniss in the games, Peeta did all she could to keep herself preoccupied.

And then Katniss and Gale won. It was a miracle. Peeta cried in relief.

Gale and Katniss got engaged. It was inevitable. Peeta still cried.

The year flew by for Peeta and she continued to do everything she could to keep herself preoccupied. She worked harder in the bakery. She painted more in her free time. She slept longer. And before she had even realized it, the reaping for the 74th Hunger Games came.

She stood there in the same pale white dress she had worn since she had turned 13 and waited for Effie Trinket to read off the names.

When she heard Primrose Everdeen read, her response was almost automatic. She yelled out "I volunteer as tribute!" and then everything moved so quickly. She was on stage without even remembering walking there.

The male tribute is selected and she her hearts breaks when she hears "Delvin Cartwright" read off by Effie. Her emotions are all over the place, because she almost finds herself laughing. A pair like her and Delvin right after a couple like Gale and Katniss? They couldn't have selected a more opposite pair if they had tried.

Peeta is quickly reminded of the gravity of the situation as she is pulled back to reality as they are escorted off stage.

She wonders if Katniss will come say goodbye. Peeta doesn't know if she wants her to.

But Katniss does. After Peeta's parents and brothers leave, Prim runs in and latches herself around Peeta's waist. Katniss stands in the door way with her usual expression.

"Why?" Prim's cries are muffled against Peeta.

Peeta pulls the smaller girl off and tries to wipe her tears. "Katniss needs a maid of honor, and won't settle for anyone but you." is what spills out of Peeta's mouth. In some ways it is the truth.

Katniss moved from the door way closer to Peeta. The victor grabbed her hand and put the mockingjay pin in it. Peeta quickly shook her head. "My mother already gave me a token." She lifts her wrist to show the pale yellow ribbon. "Keep yours."

Before Katniss can say anything, the Peacekeepers come to take Peeta. She gives Prim a quick smile before being rushed out the door.

On the train she sits next to Delvin and the two quickly eat the box of cookies Peeta's father gave to him. They savor each bite because they know it will be the last thing they have from their district.


	3. Chapter 2

After the cookies were finished Peeta and Delvin sat in silence for a few moments. Finally Delvin broke the silence by reaching out towards Peeta's wrist and stroking his thumb against the ribbon.

"It's so smooth."

"It's silk." Peeta pulls on the ribbon and it loosens. "Mama said it was the only part of her wedding dress she kept." She pulled the ribbon off of her wrist so Delvin could hold it.

"Was she mad?" Delvin held the ribbon in his hands, still feeling it.

"I don't think so. She was probably trying to figure out who to get to replace me at the bakery." The two blondes laugh. "What's your token?"

Delvin blushes and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a plain silver ring. "Madge gave it to me."

"It's beautiful Delvin."

"I know. I just wish I would've had something I could've given to her." They sit there in sad silence for a few seconds before Peeta swipes the ring out of Delvin's hand. Before he can protest, she quickly slips it onto his ring finger.

"You can get her something when you get back."

Before their conversation can continue, Effie finds them. She ushers the two towards a television set so they can watch the recap of the reapings. They watch from District 1 to District 11. Peeta tries not to think about how one of those tributes is going to kill her.

Soon after they are all gathered for dinner. Haymitch is their mentor because Gale and Katniss are too busy planning their wedding. Already, he is drunk. Peeta is not surprised in the least.

Delvin and her eat their food quietly. Peeta tries the bread first, and tries to take a little bit of everything. She wants to savor and taste all she can before she dies. Delvin seems to have the same idea, but sticks to what he thinks he might like. Effie tries to chitchat, and both politely reply. However, it is not hard to tell that Effie probably wishes she were still with last year's victors, planning the biggest wedding District 12 will ever see.

In someways Peeta is glad she will never live to see it. In other ways, she is sad she will never see how beautiful Katniss will look in her wedding gown.

Peeta falls asleep that night with her belly full of food and her head filled with visions of the girl on fire.

Breakfast the next morning is huge. Delvin and her make plates and sit on the couch together, enjoying each other's company. They each drink almost three cups of the hot chocolate. Peeta loves the taste of the bread dipped in the warm concoction, but Delvin does not like mixing foods.

Haymitch eventually stumbles out of his room and begins drinking again. Peeta hopes Gale and Katniss will not become like him as they age.

Delvin decides to freshen up a bit before they reach The Capitol and Peeta steals his idea. She does her hair up in the bathroom with the ribbon weaved around the tight bun she makes. Peeta and Delvin smile and wave at all the people in the train station all there to see the tributes. Both Effie and Haymitch seem surprised at their behavior.

Peeta puts herself on autopilot for the majority of her time at the Remake Center. Though she tries to remain friendly and polite, by the end of the treatments, she is dying to see Delvin. She wonders if the same things happened to him.

Soon she is introduced to her stylist for the games, Portia. Last year, Portia had been Gale's stylist. Cinna was back in District 12, because he was teaching Katniss how to become a seamstress and helping out with all of the preparations for the wedding. She wondered who Delvin had as his stylist.

Portia pulled out the ribbon and Peeta realized they must have removed it when they were doing her hair. "I wanted to make sure I got this back to you." The stylist said with a kind smile. "Would you like to eat something while we figure out what we want you to wear for the Chariot ride?" Peeta nods and the two go sit down in an area where there is a magnificent spread laid out.

"Last year Cinna had the brilliant idea of lighting the tributes on fire. I don't really think I could pull that off without him, but I do have a pretty good idea for what I want to do with the two of you." Peeta simply fills a small plate with food and sits there patiently, waiting to hear about her stylist's idea. She hopes it's not them going back to the old costumes they tended to use for District 12. "I came up with the idea of using smoke this year! Well not actual smoke, but a lot of grays and light charcoals. You'll see!"

And Peeta did see. A few hours later, she found herself and Delvin getting ready to go on the chariots. By the color of Delvin's face, she could tell both of them were feeling quite exposed. The stylists had clearly decided to go back to their old habits of leaving the tributes in little clothing, simply changing the idea of a coal miner costume. Peeta had on a gray dress that was more holes than it was material. Delvin was unluckier, having only a pair of charcoal colored shorts, leaving his chest bare. Both were then wrapped in light weight gray material that looked like it would blow away if it wasn't weaved around the two of them.

They were not as eye catching as Katniss and Gale had been. In fact, they were easily forgettable. As the rode in the parade, even with their friendly faces and bright smiles, not a lot of attention was given to them.

Before long the parade was over and Peeta and Delvin were riding an escalator to the twelfth floor. While they waited for dinner, the two blondes explored their floor. They were impressed by the fancy showers and food dispensaries. Soon they were called to dinner. Haymitch was still drunk, and Effie still looked like she wished she wasn't there.

Delvin and Peeta ate quietly again, keeping mostly to themselves. Haymitch and Effie still look at them like they can't figure them out. When a cakes brought out and lit on fire, Peeta can't help but watch in awe. She spends the rest of her time at the table trying to figure out how they got it to burn without burning the cake. Peeta was still trying to figure out the trick when they watched the opening ceremony replay.

They all separate to go to bed. Peeta gets the food machine to give her bread with goat cheese and she eats that before she goes to bed and thinks of home.

She has no dreams that night.


	4. Chapter 3

The next morning Delvin knocked on her door to wake her up. These beds are so much nicer than the one she had at home, and if she could she would have stayed in this one the whole day.

There is amazing buffet of food waiting outside for her, and she and Delvin spend the morning trying almost everything there. Haymitch starts the morning off with his usual drink, but instead of keeping his distance as he usually does, he sits close to Peeta and Delvin. They are both surprised when he wants to talk strategy. Neither think they have a particular talent, so they decide to try everything when they go down for training. Haymitch doesn't have any advice except to stay alive when it actually comes to the games. When he leaves the two, they can't help but think of how he seems different from the person who fell off the stage at last year's reaping.

"Do you think he actually cares about us?" Delvin finally asks.

"I don't know. I think it would be too painful to care about the tributes you train. They're going to die." Peeta suddenly understands his drinking a little more.

"His last two didn't." Neither of them mention that his current two will.

They finish eating and Delvin ties Peeta's hair up with the ribbon. Peeta finds some string and they put the ring around his neck for training. "Now it's closer to your heart." Peeta says with a smile.

They head down to training. Everyone, excluding the careers, look malnourished. The few days eating well really won't change that. Before she can get to caught up in people watching, Delvin is pulling on her elbow. They check out a few of the more empty areas first.

Peeta learns that she is quite talented at camouflage, it reminds her of decorating cakes. Both blondes are surprised to learn that Delvin was good with a spear. While he wasn't anywhere near career level, he could throw it and move with it quite well. They were given a break to eat. Peeta found it strange that only the careers sat together as a group. Delvin and her sat at the same table and talked quietly.

Soon they were back to the stations to try new things out. They decided to split up since they had different interests. Peeta went to the giant screen for identification. She watched as the tribute for District 5 tapped through all of the different pictures, getting all the identifications right. The girl suddenly turned towards Peeta.

"Can I help you?" Her tone of voice proved help wasn't what she wanted to give Peeta.

Peeta shook her head quickly. "I was just watching. Trying to see if I recognized anything." The tribute glared. "But now I'll stop doing that." Peeta backed away right into someone else.

"Watch where you're going." Peeta found herself face to face with Cato, one of the careers from District 2.

"Sorry." She said quickly, but the male was already walking away towards another station. She sighed; she should've just stayed with Delvin. He would've kept her away from everyone. Peeta looked around to see where he was. It looked like he was practicing sparring.

There were treadmills open, so Peeta decided that's where she would head. Running was always a skill that would be useful in the Hunger Games. Eventually the female tribute from District 1 ended up on the machine next to hers. She did not seem to like Peeta.

"So are you and that boy doing the same dumb lovers thing your district did last year?" The shorter blonde asked as she started running next to Peeta. Peeta shook her head. Glimmer made a face and adjusted her speed so it was faster than Peeta's. The baker's daughter didn't know if she was trying to challenge her, but even if she was, Peeta wasn't going to race.

Quickly the pretty girl seemed to notice this and decided Peeta was a waste of her time. She gave Peeta one more dirty look before she left the running area. Peeta sighed again. Barely a day in and she had a feeling she had three separate targets on her. She tried to find where Delvin was. She located him near Rue, the youngest tribute in this year's game. The two were both using the sling shots. Delvin was watching Rue shoot and probably trying to figure out how to use one. Unlike the girl from 5, Rue wasn't glaring at Delvin and trying to get him to leave. Or maybe it was just because it was Delvin. He definitely probably seemed a lot less threatening than Peeta.

Not that Peeta thought anyone should find her threatening. But even with her soft features and polite nature, she was pretty physically imposing. She was just as thin as any of the other tributes. While she might have some muscle in her arms, that was only from having to work in the bakery, and it was nowhere near the toned brawn the careers had. What really set her apart was her height. She was taller than most of the boys in her district. Even here, she was right up there in height with some of the tallest tributes. Her mother had always loved it because Peeta could reach everything she couldn't. But it had always made Peeta stand out when Peeta would much rather have blended in.

Peeta could understand why Rue was willing to put up with Delvin's much more calming presence over hers. So instead of going to try and work with Delvin again, she steeled herself against it. She was determined to spend the rest of the day alone. The next station she went to was the weight lifting area. She kept her weights at what she would assume was average. Peeta was happy to find that it didn't feel too hard to lift the weights. Perhaps working in the bakery did more than just keep her fed.

Soon their first day of training was over and they were escorted back up to their rooms.

That night Peeta and Delvin ate in silence, because they were both very tired. Soon Peeta was back in her bedroom. She had a mug of chocolate milk and feel asleep quickly. Once again she had no dreams.


	5. Chapter 4

The next day Effie is the one who knocks on her door to wake her. Once again there is a big buffet and Peeta and Delvin eat together. She tells him of the three tributes she interacted with her. Delvin laughs at her and and tells Peeta all about Rue. Apparently the two get along well. "She reminds me of Prim."

Peeta can see the resemblance. She wonders if Katniss had been reaped in this game if she would've made the same connection. The two blondes decide to work apart, but eat together again.

Peeta goes to the weight area first. She decides to put a little more weight to try and see how much she is capable of lifting. This early in the day, everyone is probably focused on what they want to do rather than the other tributes.

Peeta's assumption is wrong. Barely twenty minutes into her time at the station, the male tribute from District 1 is standing above her. She lets herself falter a little and then pretend to over exert to try and put the weights back where they go. The other tribute helps her a little.

"Thank you." Peeta says with a quick smile.

"Not a problem. That's was really heavy. I'm impressed." He smirks and sticks a hand out. "I'm Marvel."

"Peeta." She says taking his hand. "And it was way too much, I probably should've stopped earlier." She rubs at her arms. "I'll leave you to the weights, you'll know how to use them properly." Peeta quickly turned to walk away and ran right into Cato for the second time.

"Didn't I tell you to watch where you were going?" He growled. Peeta nodded her head and tried to scurry away.

Being as tall as she was made trying to hide herself a little hard. "Maybe I should just go to the camouflage station, paint my whole body, and just stay hidden the whole day." she thought to herself. Instead she found herself at the trap area. There were lots of knots to be learned, and before she was aware, it was time for lunch. She and Delvin sat together, and Rue surprised them both by sitting with them.

Delvin and Rue chatted and Peeta sat there shoving bread into her mouth and just watching the two. Then Peeta and Rue reached for the same piece of bread at the same time. Peeta apologized first and removed her hand.

"This is bread from my district." Rue said with a big smile as she broke the bread apart and shoved a piece towards Peeta.

"I know." Peeta said with a smile. "I think I've figured out breads from each district. It gives me a way to preoccupy my mind with different thoughts." She broke her piece and gave some to Delvin so he could try it.

Peeta never thought her knowledge of bread would help her interact with other people, but after they ate together, Rue ended up following her around for some of the training session. The two go to the camouflage center together and Peeta shows her how to mix the colors to get what you want, and the best way to apply the stuff if you don't have a brush. Delvin meets them at another station where all three practice making fire. Then Delvin and Rue decide to work with sling shots again and Peeta goes back to the running machine. No one bothers Peeta and she counts it as a good day.

Delvin and Peeta eat dinner together and try to figure out what they're going to do in their alone time with the judges. Haymitch and Effie leave the dinner early, but Delvin and Peeta pay them no mind. The older two are probably just waiting to get back to their victors. Peeta wonders if they'll be allowed to go back to District 12 to help with the wedding or if everything for Katniss and Gale's ceremony is being put on hold for the duration of the games.

That night Peeta sneaks out of her room. She goes to knock on Delvin's door but hears crying. it surprises her, so she quickly walks away to the elevator. She decides to go to the roof. She sits down and stares at the stars until she feels sleepy. She doesn't have a late night snack, but has the same dreamless sleep that she had been having since she arrived in The Capitol.

Once again things in Peeta's life seem to happen too fast for her to even realize they are happening. The last day of training goes by in a blur and before she knows it, her and Delvin are waiting to go do their presentations to the Gamemakers.

Delvin seems unhappy when he comes back. "They aren't even paying attention anymore. It amazes me that Katniss and Gale were able to get elevens since they went last!" He seems irritated and he storms away.

Peeta is actually glad to learn that they are not paying attention. It gives her the opportunity to really showcase her talents. She quickly camouflages herself as the Gamemakers chitchat above her. Right before going to her place she picks up a large weight and throws it against the wall. She quickly curls into herself, making sure the only parts of her that can be seen are the parts she camouflaged. By the time many of them peer over to see what the noise was, Peeta was already blending in with her surroundings. When there's a big enough crowd, she stands. A few clap and others laugh. Some seem to be trying to figure out how she moved the weight. They excuse her and she leaves.

When she gets up to her room she goes straight to the shower. Delvin probably needs time to cool off, and Peeta has been dying for an excuse to try out all the features in the hi-tech shower.

More than an hour later she finally gets out of the bathroom and starts to get ready for dinner. She leaves her hair down and pulls on a comfortable dress. At dinner both tributes tell Haymitch and Effie about their time. It is more talking then the four have done since they met.

When they watch the announcement with the scores, Delvin and Peeta are both surprised to learn they got sevens. Peeta ends up turning into bed early, and sleeping the whole night through. Haymitch bangs on her door in the morning to wake her up. While her and Delvin eat breakfast they decide to get an early start on prepping for the interview portion.

"If I'm given the chance, I'm gonna spend the whole interview talking about Madge." Delvin announced.

"Madge is Delvin's fiancé." Peeta explains.

"Well, was." Delvin admits. "But now I doubt it. I just want to make sure she knows I love her."

"I'm sure she knows that." Peeta says laying a sympathetic hand on Delvin's shoulder.

"And what about you sweetheart?"

Peeta thought for a few moments. "i don't really know. I thought I'd try and play the ever willing tribute. I mean, I know they'll probably ask about my volunteering, so I'll probably say something along the lines of it being such an honor to compete in the games." Haymitch and Delvin both look at her surprised. "I just think it might be a good idea to show them that not everyone in District 12 is like the previous victors."

Haymitch cocks his head. "So why did you volunteer?"

"To bring glory to my district by competing in the Hunger Games."

The older victor huffs and shakes his head. "I mean the real reason."

"Maybe that is the real reason. Either way, the reason doesn't matter now."

"Well it does if that's what you're going to answer with. It needs to sound more believable."

"Well if there's one skill Peeta's great at, it's lying about her feelings." Delvin said with a smirk.

Peeta punched him in the arm lightly. "Rude."

The rest of the day goes quite smoothly, though Peeta worries she might have upset Haymitch in some way based on the looks he keeps giving her. Peeta's starting to feel more and more worried about going into the arena.

Working with Effie is pretty easy, but trying to figure out what shoes to wear takes awhile. Heels make her look even larger than she is. While she can walk in them without much work, she's unsure if they are a good idea. Effie assures her that the taller she is the more interesting she will be.

"No one will be able to take their eyes off of you!" Effie says as she makes a motion with her hand to imply Peeta should try walking the room again. "And you know, from what I heard the Gamemakers were very impressed with your little stunt. They thought it was amazing that some as tall as you could disappear so easily." Effie watches her walk with a happy smile on her face. "So let everyone see you in all your glory. Let them think you'll be an easy target. You'll prove them all wrong."

Peeta just smiles at the other woman. She wonders briefly if this attitude might have come from dealing with Katniss and Gale, but she likes it nonetheless.

Soon the day is close to over and Delvin and Peeta are getting ready to go sleep. Before they separate, Peeta grabs Delvin's shoulder. "You know you can talk to me, right?"

"I talk to you all the time Peeta. If it wasn't for Rue, you'd be the only interaction I have."

"Haha." Peeta says very deadpan. "I'm right next door if you want to do more than pointlessly chatter. This is scary and terrible and I'm right here with you."

Delvin just smiles sadly. "I don't want to talk about this Peeta." He steps away from her and shuts his door very quickly.

Peeta frowns and goes back to her room. She sleeps soundly that night.


	6. Chapter 5

Portia wakes Peeta up by actually coming into Peeta's room. It startles her at first, but she calms down. They spend the entirety of the day getting Peeta ready for the interview that night. She spends the entire time wishing she were Delvin, because all he had to do was wear a tux.

While they make her pretty, Portia and the other stylists ask her different questions that she could be asked at the interview. Peeta feels like it is good practice.

When they are done and Peeta sees herself in the mirror, she is speechless. Her hair is down, but some of it has been pulled back to be tied with the ribbon. For the first time Peeta's blonde hair looks like gold rather than straw. There are loose curls and she can't believe how it frames her face.

Her dress is a beautiful yellow that matches the ribbon in her hair. It is strapless at the top with a large slit at the bottom to show off her long legs. The top is covered in jewels that shine like stars. Her heels have the same jewels on them. The heels are gold and very high.

Peeta thinks she looks like a goddess.

She hugs all the stylists and thanks them. Portia does a few touch ups and Effie comes to show her how to walk with the dress properly.

When she sees Delvin he says she looks like the sun personified. She grabs his hand and squeezes. He looks very good in his suit. He is wearing the ring that Madge gave him on his ring finger.

They make their way to the training station where where a stage has been set up for the tributes to have their interviews on. Peeta is amazed by how everyone looks. The interviewer, Caesar Flickerman, looks like he's been frozen in time. His blue suit twinkles even more that Peeta's jewels. Peeta finds herself staring at all the tributes and all of their outfits. When the camera pans over all of them, Peeta notices that with her heels, she's the tallest tribute. Standing so close to Rue makes her look like an actual giant. Hopefully she's making a good impression.

The interviews go in order. She listens to the career's words carefully. She wants to try and replicate their enthusiasm about the games. Cato's interview is quite scary, he sounds like a blood thirsty killer. She continues to pay close attention to everyone's interviews to figure out what gets more of a reaction from the audience.

Rue goes on and talks about how she'll be hard to catch. With her dress with wings, Rue looks like a little fairy. The other tribute from 11 goes next, and does not say much.

And then it is Peeta's turn. She makes her way across the stage and feels the audience's eyes on her. Caesar stands and shakes her hand. He looks much shorter in person. They sit at the same time and Caesar goes right into questioning her.

"So, Peeta, the Capitol must be quite a change from District Twelve. What's impressed you the most since you've arrived here?"

Peeta has an easy answer for that. "The showers." She says with a big grin. "There's so many settings! It's confusing at first, but they're all so amazing." The audience all laughs. "They have a part that sprays perfume too! Do I still smell like roses?"

Caesar leans in and smells her wrist. "Yes!" The two spend a few moments smelling each other and the audience really starts to laugh.

"I have to admit Peeta, when you came out in the opening ceremony, I didn't even realize how tall you were. How'd you go through such a transformation?"

"Heels!" Peeta says with a little laugh. She kicks out her feet to show the golden shoes. "I mean, I've always been pretty tall, but with Portia I learned how to actually make it look good."

Caesar laughs. "I'm sure you've always looked good." He says with a kind smile.

Peeta just laughs. "Well when you're taller than nearly everyone, not a lot of people take the time to actually talk to you."

"Well look at what they're missing out on." Caesar is still grinning. The conversation shifts to what Peeta had wanted to avoid. "So you actually volunteered for the games, a first for someone from District 12. Can you tell us why?"

Suddenly everything is quiet, apparently everyone has been waiting for this answer.

"I was hoping to find a husband." Peeta says with a big grin. The audience starts to crack up. Caesar's original look of surprise turns to a laugh and it takes a few moments for everyone to calm down. "All jokes aside, I wanted to try and bring another victory for my district. It's an honor to get to compete in the Hunger Games, and with only a few years left before I was out of the reaping, I decided to volunteer this year."

Caesar once again looks surprised at her answer. Peeta hopes she sounded believable. Thankfully the buzzer goes off and she can get off the stage.

Delvin goes last and as soon as he gets the chance he's talking about Madge. He does make sure she knows he loves her. The audience sympathizes for him. Peeta still isn't sure how they felt about her.

Nervous and tired, Peeta and Delvin return to their floor to have their last dinner. They don't say much to each other and part to go to sleep. Peeta sits on her bed, unable to sleep. She has the food machine make her cookies and eats them while crying. Finally she is able to drift to sleep. She wakes herself in the morning and goes to the shower. She washes her body until it feels like it's been scrubbed clean. She brushes her hair out and changes into a simple slip.

Soon enough she is on her way to the arena with Portia. Her outfit is simple and Portia pulls her hair back into a tight bun. While they are in the Launch Room, Portia secures Peeta's ribbon around her wrist. Portia hugs her and she steps into the platform.

Only a few moments later the games begin. Peeta doesn't even try to run towards the Cornocopia, she takes off towards the forest as soon as she can. Suddenly she feels herself tackled to the ground. Peeta takes a deep breathe. She's surprised this early in the games she's going to die, but hopefully Rue and Delvin have gotten away.

The pressure on top of her gets off quickly and she wonders if her attacker has been killed.

"Sorry, I didn't want you to run off." Says a familiar voice. Peeta turns over and finds Glimmer standing over her. The prettier blonde sticks a hand out. "We want you to join our alliance."

Peeta stands up quickly. "If you're going to kill me, can you just do it fast?" She says still keeping a distance between her and Glimmer. The other blonde didn't look like she had a weapon, but that didn't mean she wasn't still deadly.

"Well, when it gets around to that, I'll keep that in mind," Glimmer grabs Peeta's wrist. "but until then, join our alliance." She starts to drag her back towards the Cornucopia. Canons have already started to go off.

"Are you dragging me back over there to kill me there?"

"No." Glimmer finally snaps. " We've decided that since you volunteered, we want you to join the alliance. If you're really that against it, I'll be glad to kill you once I get a weapon. But if you'd like to be part of the alliance that is going to wipe out the rest of the competition, this is the only time we're gonna offer it to you."

"Oh…" Peeta is pretty sure this alliance won't last very long. She also has a lot of doubts why they would decide to include her. Nevertheless she doesn't rip her wrist out of Glimmer's grip and try to run away again.

The Cornocopia is a mess of dead bodies. Peeta averts her eyes the best she can and swallows to keep from throwing up. Marvel looks surprised that Glimmer actually brought Peeta back. Cato looks more interested in making sure all the fallen tributes are actually dead. The other tribute from 2 is glaring at Peeta. None of them immediately kill her. Maybe Glimmer is telling the truth.

Cato, Clove, and Glimmer decide to go after some of the tributes that got away injured. Marvel and Peeta stay behind to go through the supplies. Peeta assumes it is because they don't trust Peeta alone. Marvel keeps his distance, but Peeta knows it doesn't matter how much space there is between them. Marvel is talented with a spear, and even without a weapon, he could over power and kill Peeta easily. Before the other Careers return, four canons go off.

The sun is starting to set when they return. They eat quietly. The careers talk proudly of their kills and Peeta bites the inside of her cheek. It's not the type of conversation Peeta wants to hear while eating.

They decide to sleep in shifts, with the exclusion of Peeta. "If you don't trust me, I don't understand why you want me to be part of the alliance."

"Well I like you in the alliance because you're big enough to use as human shield." Clove said with a cruel smile.

"Plus we can use you to carry all our stuff so we can just carry our weapons." Glimmer said with an equally cruel smirk.

"It's beneficial for all of us. Why not just be happy you get extra sleep?" Marvel questioned.

"Because I'm assuming you'll kill me as soon as I fall asleep."

"I have no problems killing you right now if you'd like Twelve." Cato said glaring at her.

"Point taken."

Peeta falls asleep after the twelve faces of the fallen tributes shine in the sky. She sleeps surprisingly well for someone surrounded by murderers.

The next morning two backpacks are packed with what the group needs for the next day. Peeta helps camouflage their other things so no one steals them while they go out to search the forest.

Peeta is in charge of carrying their things. She is not given a weapon. The rest of the group is equipped. Marvel has a spear, Cato has a sword, Glimmer has a bow, and Clove has a collection of knives.

The group is quick to find a girl who started a fire. Clove kills her. She falls onto the fire. The smell makes Peeta want to throw up. The rest of the day is horribly dull. The careers get angry that they haven't been able to find anyone else. In the afternoon, they decide to go fill up their water bottles. Cato and Peeta are the two left to watch their supplies. Peeta spends the entirety of their time together worrying that she's going to be killed. Eventually the three come back with another in tow.

"He says he can rig up the bombs to protect our food!" Marvel announces. "So why not keep him around for a bit since he's useful?" Cato just nods. Marvel shoves the other boy towards their supplies. "Start working."

"Do you need any help?" Peeta asks. The boy from District Three explains to her how to removes the charges from the ground around the podiums. By the time they finish with that part, it is starting to get dark. They decide to wait for the next morning to set everything up, so the careers can find an area instead of the middle of the field near the Cornocopia.

Peeta is allowed to go on watch that evening, and volunteers for the first part. Glimmer haggles with Peeta and gets her to agree to do her part of the watch too. When Peeta is finally allowed to go to sleep, she welcomes unconsciousness.


	7. Chapter 6

The next morning she is woken up earlier than normal. The tribute from District 3 and her set up the bombs where the group tells them to. The boy doesn't let Peeta see how to set the charges. Peeta understands why, if she knew how to do it, he would outlive his resourcefulness. That takes up a good portion of the day. While he starts to set up some of the bombs, Peeta is put in charge of moving their supplies into the area.

By the time the sun is starting to set, Peeta is tired and sore. She's given the early morning shift, so she falls asleep quickly; the sky was barely dark.

Clove wakes her in the morning for her shift. Peeta decides she likes this time the best. Everything is quiet and she gets to see the sunrise.

When the rest of the careers wake, they eat some food. Glimmer and Clove invite her to go with them to the lake to wash. The three leave the other three tributes at the camp. Once again Peeta is left carrying their things while the careers have their weapons. They get to the lake and all wash at the same time.

"I bet you're missing those shower now, huh, 12?" Peeta nods at Clove.

"To be fair, I'm missing them too." Glimmer says. "At this point I'm even missing the Remake Center."

This makes Peeta chuckle and Clove and Glimmer both look at her strange. She stops quickly. "What?"

"Your real smile is cute." Glimmer explains. "Not as fake looking as your other one." Clove doesn't say anything to disagree.

Soon the three decide to head back to the camp. As they start to walk back, Clove sees something in the trees. It's one of the tributes. Glimmer is sent to go run back and tell the other careers about the find. Clove tells Peeta to give her a boost up into the tree. Peeta does so reluctantly. Clove doesn't make it very far into the tree before she demands Peeta help her down. Peeta agrees to climb the tree, having a pretty good idea of who is at the top of it.

While she's still close to Clove she shouts, "I don't have a weapon!"

Clove just scoffs. "I'm not giving you a weapon. You're a giant. If you manage to get close to them, you can pull them down."

Peeta frowns, but continues climbing. She wasn't yelling for Clove's sake. By the time she gets close enough to the other tribute, she can hear Glimmer and Cato getting closer to the tree.

"Hey Delvin." She says quietly.

Delvin smirks. "Glad to see you're alive."

"Won't be for long." She says jerking her heads towards the careers.

Delvin pulls out a makeshift spear, a branch with a knife tied to the end of it. "Eh. Wait for a sign and try to break a few branches on the way down, YOU TRAITOR!" He shouts the last part as he thrusts the spear towards her.

It barely grazes her shoulder. It hurts, but it won't kill her. She lets herself lose her footing and slip a few feet down the tree. When she gets a grip on a less than sturdy branch she pulls on the thing until it breaks. She lets herself slip further down the tree, this time grabbing a thin brach that breaks off in her hand immediately. From there she lets herself fall right to the ground, landing on her back.

Clove looks at her with disdain. Cato and Glimmer get to the tree then and look at Peeta on the ground.

"Do you have bandages?" She says weakly.

Glimmer shakes her head. "What'd they yell at you?"

"It was Delvin… The other tribute from 12." Peeta takes off her jacket to get a better look at the cut that's still bleeding a little. She notices that her hands look like a mess. "He called me a traitor."

"He's just mad you'll get further in the games than he does." Glimmer replies. "Why don't you and Clove go get some supplies and let Marvel what is going on? Then bring us some food back."

Clove doesn't seem happy to be listening to the orders, but she goes along. Peeta leaves her jacket at the tree. She hopes the sign Delvin was talking about doesn't come while she's gone.

When they get to the camp, Peeta wraps her wounds and her hands. Then she and Clove pack two bags. Marvel agrees to stay at the camp with their other supplies.

They head back to the tree. Cato and Glimmer are both irritated when they get back. Neither has been able to get up the tree or shoot Delvin with the bow. The sun has already set, so they decide to bundle up and go to sleep.

Delvin decides to make this hard for them all by whistling. Birds repeat this melody and make the forest louder than normal.

Peeta wonders if this is the sign, but it goes on too long to be one. The careers are irritated by it, but they all manage to get some sleep.

Early in the morning, when the sky is still dark, something small, hard, and cold hits Peeta on the head. When she recognizes it as Delvin's ring, she gets up quickly. She slips the ring on her finger. She leaves everything behind and creeps away as quietly as possible. When she's about 30 yards away, she hears something behind her. She whips around trying to see what it is. Cato is following her.

"Where you going 12?" Peeta sees that he doesn't have a weapon with him. He could just as easily kill her with his hands, but it might take him a little longer.

"I had to pee." Peeta lies.

Cato seems to consider her answer. He steps closer to her. She backs away. Soon she's backed up against a tree and Cato is crowding her space.

"What are you scared of 12?" He says in a low and dangerous voice.

"You." Peeta admits.

Cato chuckles. "We're in an alliance. I won't hurt you." Cato grabs onto her forearms. "Yet."

And then Cato kisses her. It's not the turn of events she saw happening. She stands there dumbstruck for a few moments. It isn't her first kiss, but it angers her that it will be her last. She struggles against Cato's hold, and that just seems to just excite him. He bites down hard on her lip breaking the skin.

Peeta opens her mouth in protest and Cato sticks her tongue in her mouth. She bends her arms and tries to claw at his, but it doesn't work well.

But suddenly there is a loud thump and then screams. This causes Cato to turn around and loosen his grip. It is the chance Peeta needs.

She grabs Cato by the jacket and knees him in the gut. He stumbles back and Peeta punches him the face. She doesn't wait for him to recover, she starts running.

She runs until she is sure no one has followed her. Then she tries to catch her breathe. She wishes she had water, but she didn't bring anything with her. Soon a canon goes off. Peeta hopes it's not Delvin.

Soon she hears a whistle that Delvin had done during the night. She looks up hoping to see her best friend. Instead of the blond, Peeta sees a different tribute. It's Rue.

Rue shimmies down the tree next to Peeta.

"Are you okay?" The younger girl asks.

Peeta looks at her shoulder. Since it's been bandaged, it doesn't feel too bad. "Yeah, Delvin mostly did this for show."

"I meant your face."

Peeta licks her lip then, feeling the wound. It's bled more that she thought it would. "You should see the other guy." Peeta hopes she broke his nose.

Rue gives her some of the water and they wait. The younger girl explains Delvin's plan. If everything went how it was supposed to, a nest of tracker jackers should have fallen on the careers sleeping under him. He was supposed to meet with Rue later.

"He said if I found you, I could trust you." Rue adds. "But I already knew that."

Both girls spend the rest of the day waiting for Delvin to appear. Finally Peeta decides to go look for him. She carefully makes her way back to where the careers had set up camp. There is a nest on the ground, but all the jackers are gone. She keeps her eyes out for anyone, but sees nothing. She finds a blood trail not too far from the tree and decides to follow it.

When she finds Delvin she starts to cry.

"Cut that out." He says weakly.

She falls to her knees near him and tries to find where the bleeding is coming from. He groans when she touches him and eventually pushes her hands away.

"I'm glad you're okay." Delvin says with a grin.

"What happened?"

"The little one with the knives. The nest landed on the pretty one, then and then the other ran off. The people came to collect the dead girl, so I thought it was safe to come down." Delvin coughs up some blood. "I was wrong."

"I found you though. We can go and find Rue and then I can go steal supplies from the careers. I know they have bandages." She starts to unravel the bandages on her hand. "We can use these for no-"

"Bandages aren't gonna help Peeta. I already bled out too much."

Peeta shook her head. "No, it'll be fine Delvin. It'll be okay. You'll be okay. You have to be. You still have to get married."

Delvin laughed and then started to cough up more blood. "I'm glad you found me Peeta. But I can't move. I don't have much longer."

"Don't say that."

"I need you to give Madge the ring back."

"You give it back to her!" Peeta says angrily. "I'm not leaving you here."

Delvin sighs. "Fine. Go grab my spear. I know it fell somewhere near the tree. I can use the branch to support myself, and you can use the knife in case we run into anyone." Peeta nods and stands. Delvin reaches a hand out towards her and grabs her wrist. "Good Luck." He squeezes.

"I'm just going back to the tree. I'll be back in like 3 minutes." Peeta runs back towards the tree. She reaches down to grab the spear. The branch has been broken, but the knife is still there. She is looking around for another stick to use when she hears the canon.

She rushes back to where Delvin was and finds him dead.

Peeta screams.

With tears in her eyes she runs as fast as she can back to where her and Rue had met the first time. Rue comes down out of the tree and looks around for Delvin until she realizes Peeta is sobbing. The younger girl holds onto Peeta while she cries.

Night falls and Peeta does little except drink some water and eat some of the berries Rue finds.

That night the two share a sleeping bag. Peeta cries herself to sleep even though she thought she didn't have any more tears left.


	8. Chapter 7

Peeta and Rue sleep for a long time. By the time they wake up, it is late in the morning. Peeta does a quick survey of their supplies. It's nothing compared to what the careers have. Rue explains that there is actually a lot that they can eat surrounding them. The two decide to look around for food. It is mainly Rue pointing out what can be eaten, and Peeta doing most of the grunt work to get the stuff. Compared to what she's used to eating with the careers, this food not very good. But it is filling, and she's not in constant worry that she's about to be killed.

Rue wants to know more about the careers.

"i wanted to spy on them, but Delvin said we should stay as far away as possible. We had no idea you had been with them the whole time."

"There's not much to tell. They're blood thirsty killers and they have all their supplies set up to explode if anyone else tries to get to them."

"Really? How?"

"They forced another tribute from 3 to set it up for them."

Rue seems to think for a moment. "You know, if we could get rid of their supplies, they'd be playing the same game as the rest of us."

Peeta think about it for a moment. "Yeah, I bet none of them have ever had to go without food. And I doubt they know how to find any."

By the time the sun sets, Rue and Peeta already have a plan formed for how to level the playing field. They eat more berries and roots and fall asleep together again.

The next day they wake in the morning to the sound of a cannon. They decide their plan can not wait. Peeta and Rue spend the rest of the morning gathering more food. Rue climbs a tree and puts their supplies somewhere out of reach. Peeta gives her the knife she got from Delvin, and Rue gives Peeta the slingshot.

At midday, they part ways, Rue off to set a fire, and Peeta back to the career camp. When she gets close enough, she climbs up a tree as high as she can and waits. Soon all four of the camp's inhabitants are off to find the owner of the fire that Rue has started. By the time they get there, Rue will be back with the supplies and safe from harm.

As soon as the careers are far enough away, Peeta makes her way into their camp. Remembering the places the bombs were set up, she grabs a backpack that was left behind and begins filling it. She grabs food, bandages, and anything else that seems useful. Clove has left a few of her larger knives behind, so Peeta steals one that has a cover.

Once the backpack is full of things, Peeta puts a good amount of distance between herself and the pile. Then she pulls out Rue's sling shot. The first few shots miss one of the charges by too much. She gets closer and shoots. The rock hits the charge, and then it explodes.

The force causes Peeta to fall. Her ears ring but she tries to push to get up. Everything in the pile is threatening to fall over from the force, and as Peeta tries to run back into the deeper part of the forest, it finally does. The sound is loud and shakes everything, there's no way the careers haven't heard it.

Peeta struggles to get up but feels too dizzy. She starts to panic. She doesn't know how long it will take for the careers to get back, and she doesn't want to be so disoriented if they do. She starts to crawl away as best she can. Finally she starts to feel able to move, though her head still feels clouded. She runs to the closest tree she can find and pulls herself up the best she can. She stops climbing she she gets to the thicker part of the tree where she hopes they won't look for her.

From her spot in the tree, Peeta can see the careers return to the camp. Cato is the most angry, and he storms around rumble kicking and cursing. Peeta wishes there was just one more explosion right then to wipe him out.

Marvel and Clove looks around to see if there is anything to salvage, but there is not.

In his rage, Cato attacks the boy from District 3 and kills him with just his hands. Peeta fights down the bile that threatens to rise. Then she waits. The careers wait too. She wishes she were as quiet as Rue in the forest, but she knows if she moves, the careers will find her.

As night falls, Peeta still feels like something is not working in her head. When the anthem plays that night, she realizes what it is. The explosion must have done something to her ears. When they show the people who died, Peeta realize why the careers waited. They wanted to see if the person who set off the explosion had died too.

As soon as they know the person didn't they head off into the woods. Clove and Cato wear sunglasses on their face, and Marvel brings a torch. Peeta is just thankful they don't notice her. When they are far enough away Peeta climbs down the tree and moves to a tree further away from the camp. She keeps herself awake by picking at the wound that Delvin gave her and chewing on her split lip. Finally around midnight, the careers come back to their camp. They walk right under her, but don't notice she is there. She waits longer then and finally scales down the tree.

Peeta makes the trek back to the place where Rue had stored their supplies. When she climbs the tree to check if the supplies are still there, she finds them gone. She knows Rue hasn't died, because there would have been a cannon or her face in the sky, but she still worries.

She goes further into the forest and finds a tree thick enough to support her. The sky is starting to lighten in the early hours of the day when Peeta falls asleep.

When she wakes up, it still feels like there is something wrong with her ears. Feeling dirty and still tired, she decides to try to go to the lake to wash off her body. She washes her wound and redoes the wrapping. Her hands don't look as bad as they did so she forgoes wrapping them. After doing that with no problems she eats a little and heads back into the forrest to try to find Rue. She wishes she had been smart enough to think of a sign she could've given to make finding Rue easier.

Peeta remember the whistling Delvin would do and decides to try that. Some of the birds do it back, but it sounds muted in her ears. Nevertheless she tries to follow them. Maybe Rue will get the idea, and Peeta will be able to find her.

Then Peeta hears a scream. She tries to find where it is coming from. Then she hears Rue screaming her name.

Peeta breaks into the clearing just as Marvel stabs Rue through the stomach. Peeta's whole body moves on auto-pilot. She grabs the knife out of it's holder and comes up behind Marvel who still had his back to her. She grabbed his short hair in her free hand, and tore the knife across his neck. She threw his body away from them and she knelt down to try to help Rue.

She looked around quickly trying to make sure none of the other careers were around. Rue pulled the spear out with a shocked look on her face. Then she leaned towards Peeta.

The blonde let Rue lean against her and hold onto her hand. She asks about the food and Peeta assures her that the only bit that survived was what she took from them. That's when she remember what she had grabbed specifically for Rue. She uses her free hand to reach back into her backpack and pull out and orange. She bites into it to get the peel to come off.

"I got this for you. Sorry if its bruised."

Rue just smiles at her sadly. She takes a piece. "Thank you Peeta." A canon goes off. Peeta looks towards Rue worried, but it is the cannon for Marvel. Rue bites into the slice. She savors the fruit for a few moments before swallowing. "It's delicious."

"I'm glad you like it." Peeta wants to dig through her bag to see if she can find anything sweet or anything else to give to Rue. Maybe if she had medication to numb the pain. "I'm sorry." Peeta finally says. "i should've been here." Her voice starts to break as tears start to rush down her face. "I'm so sorry."

Rue coughs. "You have to win." Her young face looks so serious.

Peeta doesn't want to make promises she can't keep, but the words spill out of her mouth. "I will. For both of us."

Rue squeezes Peeta's hand then closes her eyes. She doesn't open them again.

The cannon for Rue goes off. Peeta gently lays Rue back on the ground. It doesn't feel right to just leave her lying there. Close to the clearing there is a bank of what look like wildflowers. They are purple and yellow and white. She gathers a large bouquet of them and ties them together with her ribbon.

She places the flowers over Rue's wound. The youngest tribute looks like a fairy again. Peeta goes back to the flowers and grabs only the white ones. She uses them to make wings behind Rue. When Peeta finishes she whispers, "Goodbye Rue."

Then she walks away without looking back. She keeps walking and walking for what feels like a long time. Soon the sun starts to set.

She pauses, just for a moment until her thoughts finally catch up to her. Suddenly remembering that she killed a person causes her to throw up. She doesn't stop until her stomach empties itself up and she starts to dry heave. She tries to take deep breathes to calm down. She walks away from her vomit and tries to collect herself.

Peeta's ears still feel muted and she assumes the explosion must have ruined them. Suddenly tired from everything catching up to her, she decides to find a tree that will hold her and to fall asleep there. She does just that.


	9. Chapter 8

The next days pass quickly for Peeta. On the first day, she decides to stop sleeping in trees. She fears if she falls out of one in her sleep it could seriously hurt her. She spend the day trekking around the forest, trying to find a place for shelter. When she gets closer to the lake, she finds exactly what she is looking for. There is a small cave like area. She decides to set up camp there.

None of the food she has needs to be cooked, so there's no need for fire. She also still has her jacket and a sleeping bag, so no need to light a fire to get warm either. When she runs out of water she can trudge to the lake to fill her bottles. She keeps one full at the bottom of her backpack.

After she is situated in the cave, her days start to have a pattern to them. She wakes, she eats, she waits, she drinks, she waits more, she naps, she eats, she ventures out to the lake, she returns, she sleeps. This repeats for many days. She doubts any of the cameras focus on her, there is nothing interesting about her routine.

On the day she starts to wonder if there will be anything incentive to get the games more interesting again, an announcement is made. There will be a feast at the cornucopia the next morning. These are common. Usually when they get down to less tributes, they'll try to do something to bring them all together. Peeta has noticed that there haven't been any cannons for the past few days, or she has been unable to hear them. She wonders how many people are left in the games.

Peeta checks her supplies. Eating as little as she has been, and having grabbed enough food for two people, she still has enough food to last at least two more days. She can't think of anything that she could need from the feast. The blonde has been living pretty comfortable. Excluding her ears, but she doesn't feel like chancing running into the other tributes just for the chance that she might get her ears fixed.

So instead she stays in her hiding place. The next morning she is woken by the sound of a cannon. Peeta makes sure she has her knife near her, but doesn't think anyone is close enough near her spot. Only a few minutes later she hears another cannon. The feast must be particularly bloody.

There are no more cannons after that. Later in the afternoon, Peeta goes out to the lake. She notices that the water seems lower than usual. Thinking this might be her last chance around the water, she washes quickly and fills her water bottle.

To prove her wrong, it starts to rain.

Instead of staying in the cave that had started to flood, Peeta decides to try the trees again. At least there, she can keep her backpack from floating in dirty water.

As the anthem plays Peeta makes her way up a tree. The rain skews the faces of the fallen, but Peeta recognizes Clove and the girl from training who glared at her. She wonders if they took each other out.

With the rain and the cold temperatures, the tree is cold that night. Peeta does not get much sleep.

The next day it continues raining. The tree does not provide a lot of cover from the cold water, but it does still keep her hidden from whoever is left in the games. Even with a jacket and her sleeping bag she feels cold. Peeta eat less to try and stretch her rations. She sleeps more. If she is careful, she might be able to make her food last an extra day longer.

The next day Peeta feels as if she is soaked to her very core. Around midday, a cannon goes off. The rain stops as soon as it does. Peeta wonders who has died.

With the rain stopped, Peeta decides to go and try to clean herself in the lake one last time. She can't help but notice that the temperatures are suddenly climbing very hot.

She finds an area with water that is deep enough. After setting her sleeping bag out to dry and taking off her clothes and laying them out on rocks to dry, she submerges herself in the water. She undoes the tight bun and braid her hair had been in.

She gets out of the water after a few minutes and puts her bra and underwear back on. They are just damp, not as soaked as the used to be. She leaves her hair down. She looks at her meager supplies. There is only one piece of dried meat and one strip of dried fruit.

She slowly munches on the fruit while she waits for her clothes to finish drying. After sitting in the sun awhile she realizes her skin is starting to get too hot. She moves back towards the trees, leaving her clothes there.

While she sits under the shade of the tree, Peeta goes through the other supplies she has. She decides to try to get rid of everything she doesn't need. The bandages are thrown out, and other supplies she doesn't think she'll need go to.

She keeps all her water bottles but refills them. Then she checks her clothes. They are dry, so she puts them back on. As the sun sets, she decides to head back to her cave. The darker it gets the more she regrets the idea. The anthem plays and Peeta looks for the faces in the sky. There is only one, it is the other tribute from District 11.

Peeta has ventured closer to where a stream had previously been. It has nearly dried up. She walks along, trying to recognize things in the dark. As she walks, she tries to figure out who is left in the games. She tries listing off the districts and the people she knows who are dead, and still the math doesn't seem to be adding up.

Then suddenly she sees something drifting down towards her. It is a gift from Haymitch. Food! It is a thick soup and a roll. She wonders why she is getting a gift the late in the night. This is the first thing she has been sent. She takes a few bites, not wanting to upset her stomach with the rich food. She recognizes a roll as one that they serve in District 2.

That is when Peeta realizes it. This isn't just food to fill her stomach, it is a sign. She seals the food and puts it in her backpack and keeps walking, trying to figure out what the sign meant. Did he mean that there were two tributes left? Or that her competition was from District 2? She knows that Clove has died, so if Haymitch meant District 2, it must mean that Cato is the tribute left.

Finally she makes it back to her cave. Peeta's sure that Cato is still alive, but is he all that is left? She hopes if he is that he has decided to rest for the night. She pulls out the soup and eats more of it and the roll. Then she puts it back in her pack. Just in case Cato finds her, she puts the knife into her boot. She just wants to rest her eyes for a bit.

Peeta is woken hours later when she hears loud crashing through the woods. She gets up quickly and leaves her cave. She can see Cato barreling through the woods almost straight towards her. She wonders what his plan is.

But he barely seems to register her presence, and rushes right past her. She looks towards where he came and sees them: Muttations. She doesn't even think, she just starts running after Cato. Peeta hopes that Cato is running to a place that will be safe from the mutts.

Soon they reach the clearing where the Cornucopia is and Peeta realizes what Cato's plan was. With a burst of energy, she passes Cato and makes it to the structure first. WIthout taking time to pause, she starts to climb up the thing and makes it to the top. She sits there trying to catch her breathe. Cato is up there only a few moments after her. They sit there trying to catch their breathe. Peeta wishes she would've grabbed a water bottle or something. But she has nothing with her except the knife still in her boot and the ring she has had on her finger since Delvin gave it to her.

After a few minutes, Cato starts laughing. "You're all that's left?!" His smile makes him seem even more insane. He stands. "Do you wanna start begging for life?"

Peeta stands also. "Do you wanna start begging for yours?" She glares.

This makes Cato laugh. He starts to advance towards her. He doesn't have his sword, and Peeta doesn't see any other weapons, but he does have armor that covers his vulnerable areas.

Excluding his neck.

When he gets close enough, he grabs her neck in his hands. But Peeta is faster. She lifts her leg and grabs the knife out of its holder. Before Cato can move to get it from her, she already has swiped it across his throat. He lets go of her neck. She lifts her leg and kicks him off the side of the Cornucopia. Only a few moments into the mutts attacking his body, the cannon goes off.

Then comes the Head Gamemakers voice, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark!"

Peeta can't help but wonder who is currently awake to see this. The sun is just starting to rise. She watches as the mutts back away from the Cornucopia. They run away back the way they came. And that's when she notices it. There are 22 of them. And they all look a lot like the other tributes. The smallest one even has her ribbon. She throws up.

A hovercraft materializes above her. First she thinks they are here to collect Cato's body, but she realizes that they are hear to collect her. Everything still seems surreal. She grabs onto the ladder and finally relaxes. When she gets into the craft, they explain that they are going to take her tracker out. When they do that, they must give her some sort of sedative, because soon Peeta is falling unconscious. Her last thought is that maybe she had been safer in the arena.


	10. Chapter 9

When Peeta wakes she's confused. The room is lit with fake yellow light. There is only her bed, no windows, and no doors. The room smells too clean. She is naked, but covered. There are tubes in her right arm. Her left arm is free so she lifts it to her face. The split from Cato is still on her lip, but the cut from Delvin is gone. But so is his ring. As she looks around for anything, she realizes that her hearing is normal again.

Peeta realizes that she is constrained and doesn't struggle against it. She lays there for a few minutes in silence when suddenly a portion of the wall slides open. An Avox comes in and leaves a tray of food. The Avox leaves and Peeta turns to her food. It is only a light broth, apple sauce, and water, but it takes Peeta awhile to finish it. She's not surprised that her stomach has shrunk. After she finishes eating, a cold liquid seeps into her veins and she feels herself sink to sleep.

When she wakes next, she is no longer confined. There is an outfit lying on the foot of the bed. It is the same thing she had worn in the arena, but a new cleaner version. She pulls it on quickly. She hopes that the sooner she complies, the sooner she can get out of the very empty room. She doesn't feel as weak as she thought she would. The wall slides open, and Peeta walks out into an empty hall.

"Peeta!" Someone yells. Peeta recognizes the voice. It's Portia. At the end of the hall, Effie, Portia, and Haymitch are waiting in a large chamber. "I can't believe it's you!"

Peeta is confused. "What do you mean?" She asks as she walks towards them.

"They wanted to add some suspense this year." Haymitch explains. "They didn't show the ending of the games yet. They want to make it a surprise when the victor takes the stage."

Effie is reaching up touch Peeta, as if she can't believe that she's real.

"They made us both prepare outfits. Tigris is going to be so mad that what she made for Cato isn't going to be used!" Portia exclaims. "Oh, but never mind that. I'm so happy you're alive!"

"Where's Delvin's ring?" Peeta asks. That's the only thing that she's been thinking about since she woke up.

"Here you go sweetheart." Haymitch pulls it out of his pocket and hands it to her. Peeta sighs in relief.

"They didn't get rid of that nasty scar?" Effie says sounding upset. "I can't believe that!"

Peeta licks her lip and realizes that Cato's mark is still there. "Maybe it was too hard to fix since it's on such sensitive skin? I won't complain, they got rid of any other imperfections I had."

Portia grabs Peeta's wrist. "Well I'm sure I can cover it up with makeup. Lets start getting you ready!" Peeta lets Portia drag her away. Everything is darkened as she is brought to where she will be made up. They obviously are taking this secret very seriously and trying to keep anyone from learning who won just yet.

When we finally get there, Portia's assistants scream excitedly. "We won!" Portia disappears, and Peeta gets to get more food to eat. The portions are controlled and even with that the food feels too rich for Peeta's stomach.

After eating, Peeta gets to see herself in the mirror. The last time she saw herself in the mirror was before the interview. She looks nothing like she did then. She can see all her ribs, and can't help comparing herself to a stick figure.

They all make jokes as they prepare her shower and Peeta just pretends to laugh along with them. She thinks of Glimmer commenting on her smile. As she stands in the shower she wonders if she will ever smile for real again.

Then they starts working on Peeta. They do her hair and nails. They talk and Peeta replies, but it feels almost as if she is hard of hearing again. She instead stares out the large windows and watches the sunset. Finally they are done and Portia returns. She has a glitzy dress in her arms. It is the exact same dress that Peeta had worn during the interview, but in dark purple. The shoes Portia has are silver instead of gold. Instead of pulling her hair back like they did before, they leave it down and loose.

"Do you want to wear the ring around a chain or on your hand?" Portia asks.

"I don't want to wear it. The only reason I took it was so I could give it back to Madge." She hands it to Portia. "Do you think you could give it to Haymitch to hold onto until I'm done with all this?"

Portia agrees. Instead of putting her in the dress and shoes, they give her a robe the wear. From there they go back downstairs to where they used to train. Peeta is confused, but goes along with everything. They end up underneath the stage. They are going to show the recap of the games, with the ending added in and then Peeta will be raised up to the stage.

That means Peeta spends three hours underneath the stage watching the recap. The first half hour focuses on the pre-arena events. They only show Peeta and Cato's reaping. It's interesting to watch because both volunteered. They show the chariot ride, and Peeta is surprised to see film of her and Delvin. She had felt almost invisible during the parade. As she sits through their scores, Peeta can't help but realize that not once did she camouflage herself during the game.

Then comes the interviews. Once again Cato's part and her part are showed in more detail. She can't help but notice how similar they seem. As she sits there she wonders how much they really had in common. Once they get to the arena it gets very interesting. Apparently since there is the question of whether Cato or her won, the focus is mainly on the two of them. Suddenly she realizes why this format seems a little familiar. It reminds her of the set up of the recap from last year, where they played it like a love story between Gale and Katniss. She wonders if they are purposefully trying to trick the audience.

There's detailed coverage of the bloodbath and then the video switches from shots of the tributes dying to shots of Peeta and Cato. There seems to be special attention given to any time Peeta and Cato interacted, despite the fact that they didn't interact that much. When they get to the part with the kiss, she can hear the audience cheer. She can't help but feel disgusted at this. She can't believe how anyone would see that as something consensual, let alone cheer for it. They play the part with Peeta and Delvin. Spliced with this are Cato aggressively killing others. Peeta cries then and is happy she isn't stuck sitting on the stage. Portia and the others decide now is the time to start getting her ready for her debut.

They do her makeup and get her in the dress and shoes. Peeta realizes why they decided to get her ready then, they didn't want her to have to watch the part with Rue. Then it focuses on Cato for the rest of the time. Peeta understands why. Everything she did after that was excessively boring. They show the bloodbath at the feast, then Cato hunting after Thresh. Finally they get to the part with the Muttations. When they get to the part where Peeta and Cato make it to the top of the Cornocopia, Peeta is shuffled into a small elevator similar to the one that brought her up into the arena. It is made of steel so that no one can see who is inside of it.

Peeta hears herself say "Do you want to start begging for yours?" And then the audience shushes each other, not wanting to miss a second of this unseen footage. She can remember everything that happens vividly as she hears the sound play. Then she hears the same sentence she heard last in the arena, only this time being said by Caesar Flickerman.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present the victor of the Seventy-fourth Hunger Games, Peeta Mellark!"

Her capsule opens and she walks out onto the stage. The crowd goes wild. The delay for learning their victor has clearly worked them up into a frenzy.

Peeta curtsies and surveys the stage. There's a seat for her next to Caesar. She wonders if the interview part is going to happen right now. Usually it is split, and Peeta's not sure if she's ready to answer all his questions. But she sits. Then President Snow takes the stage with a young girl following after him with the crown on a pillow. Last year Snow had broken the crown and placed the two halves on Katniss and Gale's heads. This year it is in one piece placed on Peeta's head.

Snow shakes her head and Peeta thanks him for the opportunity to compete in the games. Then Caesar starts introducing the people who helped Peeta. Portia's group of stylists comes out first, bobbing and bowing. Effie comes next and her smile is genuine. Peeta wonders if she thought she'd get two games in a row with victors. Portia comes out next, and the crowd cheers the loudest. Haymitch comes out last, and the crowd goes just as wild. Now he's coached three tributes through two Hunger Games in a row.

Peeta stands now to and goes to the group. They all wave and smile, with the exclusion of Haymitch who just claps and grins. There is more bowing and the crowd is still cheering. Peeta wonders how they do it. Finally Caesar Flickerman bids the audience good night and reminds them to tune in for the final interview tomorrow.

Next comes the Victory Banquet at the President's mansion. Peeta smiles for every picture that anyone requests and talks to everyone. She feels as if her life is now just something she is watching, not actually participating in. She asks if she can watch the sunrise from one of the balcony's, and people nearly fall over themselves to find one where they can all watch it together.

The sun burns her eyes but looks beautiful. Peeta can't stop looking at it. She thinks of Katniss.

Soon she is whisked back to the Training Center to finally get some sleep. She has barely gotten her dress off when she collapses onto her bed to sleep.

She is woken later in the day by Effie. She eats her brunch quickly. She wants to take one last shower because she knows after the interview she won't have a chance. When Portia comes to get her ready for the interview she laughs at the fact that Peeta is showering. The stylist dresses Peeta in a simple white dress that reminds her of a fancier version of what she wore when she was reaped. The dress has a yellow ribbon around the waist and matching yellow heels.

The final interview is filmed right down the hall in the sitting room. The last time Peeta had been there, she thought she'd never be back. Caesar hugs her when she comes in. "Congratulations, Peeta. How are you?"

"Fine." She smiles and goes to sit at the soft chair they have for her to use during the interview. Soon someone counts down and the broadcast is live. Everything goes as smoothly as possible. Peeta and Caesar banter easily just like they did at the interview. He brings up the shower again and Peeta talks about the last minute shower she just had. They joke and tease, but some of the questions get harder to answer.

"So what do you think Cato was thinking when he kissed you?"

Not expecting the question, Peeta has to take a second to think of something. "Maybe he took my looking for a husband comment too seriously." She finally says.

Caesar chuckles. "Did you think it was going to end up being the two of you left at the end of the game?"

"Well I had a feeling he'd make it to the end of the game, but I wasn't sure if I would be there." Peeta admits.

"But you did!" They two leap chatting about other parts of the Hunger Games and Peeta lets herself go on auto-pilot. it hurts to talk about Rue and Delvin and she just wants to power through all of this. More than ever she suddenly wants to go home.

"Alright Peeta, last question: What are you going to do now?" Caesar asks.

"Go home and miss you until I come back for the victory tour Caesar." She says with a wink.

"By me do you mean the showers?" The two laugh and Caesar signs off. Peeta knows the whole thing was cheesy and nowhere near like the final interview from last year with Gale and Katniss's confessions of love, but she's just about done with The Capitol.

Portia walks Peeta back to the room to say their goodbyes. She gives Peeta the ring back and Peeta slips it on her thumb. From there Peeta gets in a car with blackened windows and then onto the train back home.

That night Effie, Haymitch, and Peeta eat a large dinner while they watch the interview. Seeing herself on the TV makes it feel like that person isn't really her. In fact the closer they get back to District 12, the more Peeta wishes that person wasn't her. She sleeps for the rest of the train ride until Haymitch shakes her awake. She wets her lips and cringes, they never did get rid of the ugly scar she got from Cato.

When they get to the District 12 station, Peeta is displeased to see that there are many people there with cameras. Peeta plasters a smile on her face and makes her way through the crowd. There are more questions to answer, and she just smiles and talks her way through all of them. She only has one goal, and after that she doesn't care what happens.

Finally the crowd of cameras dissipates, mostly thanks to Haymitch. From there it is a quick walk to the mayor's house. It is still early in the morning, and most everyone is supposedly getting ready for the homecoming celebration for Peeta. Thankfully, the few people she's does see don't try to stop her. She knocks on the door of Madge's house and the housekeeper answers. Peeta doesn't say anything, she just puts the ring into her hand. Then she leaves.

She wanders the town aimlessly until she gets to her family's bakery. She can see her brother setting out fresh bread. The whole place smells amazing. Her brother hears her come in and stands up straight. When he realizes who it is, he practically leaps over the counter to crush her in a bear hug.

"Ma!" He shouts. "Dad!" Her other brother runs out when he hears the eldest yelling. When he sees Peeta he does the same hop over the counter. Soon she is enveloped in a bear hug from the both of them. Her parents come out next. Peeta's father hugs her and she feels like she is ten years old again.

Her mother pulls her head down to kiss her forehead. "I'm glad you made it home safe." Peeta grabs her mother in a hug and starts the cry. The whole family surrounds her and she feels more loved than she ever has before.

She spends the rest of the day at the bakery with them making bread for the homecoming ceremony. When the sun is just starting to set, Effie comes to collect Peeta.

Peeta changes into one of her old light blue dresses and heads off to the homecoming ceremony. Nearly everyone from District 12 is there. The blonde hopes that there is enough food for everyone. Peeta smiles, shakes hands, and hugs everyone that comes her way. She eats very little and waits patiently for the celebration to come to an end. She sees Madge at one point, but the other girl stays away from her. She looks like she has been crying.

Prim comes to see Peeta close to the end of the night and gives her a big hug. Peeta almost thanks her for the opportunity to compete in her place but steps herself. It reminds her of stuff she forced herself to say in the arena and she knows its not true. Everything that she has been doing seems so fake.

Finally the night is over. Effie tells her that her house in the Victor's Village is not ready yet, but Peeta doesn't mind. She goes back home with her family and falls asleep in her bed for the first time in weeks.


	11. Chapter 10

After the 74th Hunger Games, Peeta's life starts to return to normal. As normal as life can be for a victor of the Hunger Games to say the least.

Peeta spent most of her days in the bakery with her family, and spent the nights in her house at the Victor's Village. More often than not she couldn't sleep, so she would stay up and paint or draw. One of the rooms of her home was filled with artwork. They ranged from old drawings of Katniss to elaborate paintings of the 74th Hunger Games.

She didn't sleep as well as she used to, but she was able to stay awake for the days of work in the bakery. The few times she did fall asleep in the bakery, her family usually just let her sleep. Eventually it became a bit of a pattern that she would sleep for a few hours a day at the bakery simply because she felt safe there. The calming smell of the baking bread and the presence of her family was enough to help her drift right off to sleep peacefully.

The only good thing that came of winning the games was that her relationship with her family had improved. Perhaps it was living outside of the house, or perhaps it was that they had thought they would lose her, but now the awkwardness they had previously had was gone. Even the distaste her mother seemed to have for her previously was gone.

One of the largest tasks the bakery had coming up for them was the wedding of Gale and Katniss. Their wedding had continued to be pushed back, but the date was finally set. Their wedding would precede the announcement for Quarter Quell, which meant it was a few months after Peeta was to go on her Victory Tour. The Mellarks were put in charge of making the wedding cake.

This caused Katniss and Peeta to have more interaction. At the end of each month, Katniss and Gale were supposed to come to the bakery and try different types of cake to see which they liked the best. The first few times they came, Peeta had been asleep. Both of her brothers found the victor couple a bit difficult to deal with, so it was decided that Peeta would handle the situation from then on.

Gale stopped coming to the meetings, so usually it would be Katniss and Prim that Peeta got to see. Peeta always let the Everdeens take the extras they had to share with their family. Katniss seemed to be just as uninterested in trying the cakes as her fiancé was, but didn't mind coming because Prim loved trying them all. Peeta would not be the least bit surprised if all the details on Katniss's part of the wedding decisions ended up being made by the younger Everdeen.

Days of working in the bakery and nights of painting until she felt exhausted passed quickly, and soon the first day of her victory tour was upon her. Katniss, Gale, and Haymitch all came along on the tour since they were previous victors. Katniss and Gale filmed first, announcing their wedding date and encouraging the Districts to tune in. Luckily Peeta was with Portia, getting prepared for her bit of filming. The previous year, they ran with the lovers theme and Gale and Katniss ran into each others arms. For Peeta, they had Gale and Katniss's wedding directly lead into her introduction.

Victor's are supposed to have interesting careers after they win, but the one Peeta chose wass simply taking over her family's bakery shop. After they finish filming the fiancés, they take to the bakery to get some shots. Peeta was dressed in a simple dress and had her hair pulled back into a tight bun. She also had a bright white apron on. There was enough makeup caked onto her face to keep the bags under her eyes from showing. The filming began.

The camera men started with the big wedding cake display in the window before they come into the bakery itself. Peeta was behind the counter frosting a cake. She smiled at the camera as if she was greeting an old friend. In a way, she was.

On a monitor that she could see, Caesar Flickerman appeared. "Peeta!" His smile seemed to brighten the screen.

Peeta let her grin grow. "Caesar! How have you been?"

"I'm the one who is supposed to be asking the questions here! Are you ready for the Victory Tour?"

"Of course, I couldn't wait. I just wanted to finish up one of my cakes before I go."

"So you're back to working at the bakery? I bet you don't smell like roses anymore." Caesar joked. Peeta wondered how long they were going to keep using that joke.

"You're right, I smell like bread and frosting now" She shot right back. "By the time we see each other in person, I'll probably have spent enough hours in the shower to have my signature scent back." She winked.

Caesar laughed. "Well, I'm looking forward to that!" They chattered for a few more minutes before their first interaction is done and Caesar signed off. Once the camera was off of her, Peeta took a deep breathe and let herself deflate. She was back to feeling fake again. But luckily it was only for a short amount of time. Once her Victory Tour was over she could return back to the schedule she'd worked out for herself. Plus, with Katniss and Gale along for the trip, less attention would be on her.

Peeta said her goodbyes to her family before she had to make her way to the train. Effie had been busy with Gale and Katniss, so Peeta had yet to see the older woman. Peeta made a large plate of the food they laid out and took it to her room. She told Portia that she was going to turn in early because she was very tired. Portia made a little crack about the bags under Peeta's eyes and Peeta faked a laugh.

Peeta ate alone in her room and laid in bed for the rest of the night. Sometimes it felt as if she was sleeping, and other times it feels like she is just lying there awake. Eventually it became morning and Effie was the one who came to wake Peeta.

"Still sleeping in?" Effie said with a little giggle. "Must be nice to not have a care in the world." Peeta just smiled lazily at her comment. She felt something like anger deep in her chest, but tried to bury it. There's no possible way Effie could ever understand, so Peeta can't blame her for what the escort can't do.

She goes out for breakfast and notices she's the last victor to make it to the table. The other three are already there eating. She makes a small plate this time and eats slowly. She remembers back to the first time she and Delvin had been on the train together and tried all the new food. She ends up losing her appetite quite quickly and asks if she can go back to her room for a little time alone. Portia and the prep team allow her this, but say she'll have to eat lunch while they get her ready to save time.

Peeta ends up sleeping then, and only waking when Portia comes to rouse her. She eats more once she's in the company of just Portia and her assistants. For some reason the air around Gale, Katniss, and Haymitch feels too uncomfortable. Even the stylists comment about it. They chalk it up to pre-wedding jitters.

Soon they arrive in District 11. Peeta wears a simple lavender dress. Katniss and Gale wear a matching shirt and dress combination and look like a perfect couple. They are to stand in the back near Haymitch and Effie. Essentially they are just there to remind everyone about their previous victory. Peeta understands that is more about making them appear more subdued than they had been last year, but Peeta is glad for it anyway. Any attention on them is attention away from her.

When she gives her speech at the Justice Building, she repeats what she has already memorized. It goes by quickly. She adds in one part to her speech, which she will only say at District 11. She talks of Rue's kindness in the games and how the younger girl kept her alive. At the end of her speech, everyone claps and they give her flowers and a plaque. It is nothing like the way the districts got excited over Katniss and Gale last year, but it is exactly what Peeta wants. It is subdued and puts no one in danger.

That night at the media event everyone's eyes are on Katniss and Gale. None of the reporters even talk to Peeta. Portia sticks by Peeta's side though.

"I can't believe Effie is still drooling over those two! It's been a year. You're the victor." Portia frowned. "Though you wouldn't know it from the coverage here."

"Stop complaining." Peeta said hiding a grin behind her cup. "Aren't you Gale's stylist? Doesn't that mean you're supposed to be all about the wedding too?"

Portia scoffs. "That young man is one of the most irritating creatures I have ever head to deal with. I'll be lucky if I can get him to wear the suit I designed for the wedding. Honestly, I have no problems just leaving everything up to Cinna. I have my own perfect victor to work on." Portia smiles at Peeta. "I couldn't ask for anything more." Soon she's back to frowning. "Except maybe some press coverage! It's like I'm dressing you up for nothing!"

Portia continues to be unsatisfied for the entirety of the tour because Peeta is almost always in the background of Katniss and Gale. All attention is on Peeta during her speeches, but once it turns to the media events, all focus returns to Katniss and Gale. Portia has new complaints every night. Peeta simply laughs into her glass of juice and pretends to be just as offended as her stylist.

When they make it to District 2, Peeta has the hardest time. She stumbles though her speech and can feel hateful eyes burning into her. She robbed this district of their victory with her own hands. The same thing is repeated at District 1. Marvel and Cato were Peeta's only kills, and the last two districts definitely make her feel the guilt she had been ignoring.

Peeta never thought she would feel relieved to make it to the Capitol, but in a weird way, she was. This was where Caesar was, and he was the one thing she had been looking forward to on the Victory Tour.

Flickerman had been adamant about their interview being about them, so Katniss and Gale didn't even come along. At the very beginning of the interview, Caesar did mention their wedding date, but soon he shifts the focus to Peeta. They fall into their usual banter and laugh and talk like old friends. Of course the topic does somehow shift back to the wedding.

"So what have you been doing since you got back to your District?" Caesar asks, his eyes twinkling.

"Well the biggest project I'm working on right now is the cake for the wedding."

"The Wedding? Katniss and Gale's?" Peeta nods her head. "How exciting." Caesar says with an over-exaggerated role of his eyes.

"Are you not excited Caesar?" Peeta says widening her eyes.

"Oh, no I am!" He exclaims. "I mean, I get to host it, so I'll get to go visit the beautiful District 12! I'll get to eat food directly from your bakery which will be a treat. And I'll get to see the beautiful Katniss in her wedding gown. I wonder if it will light on fire like the rest of her outfits." Caesar grins. "And I'm sure the ceremony will be just wonderful. I just hope the groom's become a more tolerable person in the past year." Peeta cocks her head confused. "Oh, come now Peeta. Everyone and their mother knows Hawthorne's a surly grumpy man. He might have his looks going for him, but his personality's the worst. Don't you agree?"

Peeta shakes her head. "I really haven't interacted with him enough to pass any judgements."

"Oh, I kid, I kid!" Caesar interrupts with. "Hawthorne knows it's all in jest! Just poking a little fun at the future newlywed." The conversation shifts from there, but soon enough, Caesar's making his closing remarks. The cameras shut off and Caesar gives Peeta a big hug before he's whisked off to do whatever it is he has to go do.

Peeta is also whisked away by Portia to be re-gussied up for the last party she needs to attend. The party is a big deal, but like all the other events she's been to, she's able to disappear into the wallpaper and be ignored over Katniss and Gale. As she stands there she people watches. Everyone seems eager to get Katniss's attention, still wearing her mockingjay pin. Apparently that little trend hasn't left the capitol yet. She spends the night picking at the food they have out and watching Katniss dance with Gale and other people at the ball. She feels jealousy deep in her bones, and despite assuming that her crush on Katniss had died in the games, she realizes that it is back full force.

Despite her conflicting feelings, she does not let herself drink. She has seen Haymitch, Gale, and Katniss all drink on this tour, and it is not a habit she wants to pick up. Finally she is able to leave the party, and the whole team makes their way back to the train.

Peeta sleeps for nearly 12 straight hours that night.


	12. Chapter 11

Peeta wakes up the next day well past noon. By the time she wakes they are only a few hours from District 12. She spends most of the rest of her time with Portia since she doesn't know when she will see the stylist again. They laugh and talk and eat. A lot of what Portia says is problematic, but Peeta understood that it was just because of where Portia was from.

Soon they make it to 12 and Peeta says her goodbyes to Portia and Effie. They have the Harvest Festival at the Mayor's House and Peeta spends most of her time pretending that she's short enough to hide behind her brothers. Peeta can not hide behind Gale and Katniss here because they are both with their families. But it did not matter. With her brothers at her side the night passes quickly and soon Peeta is back in her empty little home in the Victor's Village.

Only a few weeks later a terrible blizzard hits the area. Using what she can buy, Peeta starts to make food for those who don't have enough. It doesn't help as much as Peeta hopes it would, but its the best she can do. About two months later it is time to start getting ready for Katniss and Gale's wedding, and thankfully more food is suddenly abundant. Peeta sees Katniss more often because of the finishing touches on the cake. Peeta's created a smaller model of the cake with the basic designs on it. There are flames and birds and forests all created carefully.

"The bigger model will be more detailed." Peeta says.

"Bigger model?" Katniss seems surprised by the multi-tiered cake.

"Yes Katniss." Peeta says with a small grin. "The real thing is going to be almost as tall as you."

"It just seems so excessive." Katniss admits. "You should see the dress they have me in. I'm surprised I can walk in it."

"Either way I'm sure you'll look beautiful as always." Peeta says with a smile.

Katniss laughs bitterly. "No, I'll look just about as fake as I feel."

"Don't say that." Peeta says shaking her head. "You're not fake. You've never been. You never let them change you."

This makes Katniss laugh again, but it sounds even more angry. "You're so naive. You see me just like everyone else does, you don't know anything."

Peeta opens her mouth to disagree, but quickly closes it. There is an awkward silence. "You're right, I don't know anything." She wants to say that what she wants is to know everything about Katniss that the brunette will tell her, but she bites her tongue. "I'm sure you have other wedding preparations, and I have other orders I should be working on. The cake will be done the night before the wedding, so you can come see it and if you find anything wrong with it, I can spend the night fixing it." Peeta heads back towards the kitchen. She doesn't want to be near Katniss right now, and she never thought she'd feel that way. She doesn't hear Katniss leave, but eventually Peeta knows she's gone.

All too quickly, the day before the wedding comes. Peeta spends the whole day decorating the cake that her family baked. She doesn't rest until it's done, so before she realizes, it's late afternoon and the cake is finished. She ends up falling asleep in the bakery, taking a very long catnap.

Sometime before midnight, there is a knock on the door of the bakery that wakes Peeta. There's a note from her parents that they've locked everything up and she can just go back to her home when she wakes up. After reading the note, she remembers that there had been a knock at the door.

Peeta is surprised to see that Katniss is the one at the door. She invites the archer into the bakery. Katniss smells like Haymitch and the forest, a mix of alcohol and pine.

"You said I could come see the cake." Katniss explains.

"Yeah." Peeta says hesitantly. "I just didn't expect you. Do you want some coffee?"

Katniss shakes her head. "So where is it?" Peeta takes Katniss to the back of the bakery where the cake is set up on the high counter. It towers over the shorter girl. "Wow." Katniss lets out an impressed whistle.

The very top of the cake is decorated with gold mocking jays and two figurings of Gale and Katniss holding hands while engulfed in flames. Katniss teeters on her tiptoes trying to get a better look. "Oh!" Peeta suddenly realizes before she grabs a stool of her brother's. Being as tall as she was, Peeta could always reach even the highest parts of anything she had to decorate, but her family wasn't as lucky. "Here, you can use this if you wanna see the top a little better."

A lazy grin covered Katniss's face, and it seemed so unlike her. The shorter girl gets up on the stool and looks at the cake absentmindedly. "Real beautiful." The brunette comments. She turns towards Peeta who is standing next to her. Suddenly, as if one of her legs just stop working, Katniss topples a little.

Peeta reaches out to catch her, but due to poor timing, both girls end up on the floor of the bakery with Katniss on top of Peeta. Katniss laughs a little and Peeta can feel the hot puffs of her breathe against her neck.

"Katniss?" Peeta questions.

"Shhhh." Katniss says with a dangerous grin. Peeta can smell her breathe. It reeks of alcohol. The brunette situates herself on top of Peeta straddling her. "You're so pretty Peeta." Katniss coos. "And so good at manipulating people. You made everyone fall in love with you." She leans down close to the blonde's face. "But you're just as fake as me."

"Yeah." Peeta agrees, sitting herself up. The sudden movement makes Katniss slide a bit, but the brunette stays pretty secure. "However, I'm not as drunk as you. Why don't we get you back to your house for a good night's rest before your big day?"

"You're gonna come with me to my house?" Katniss says with a dirty grin. "It's fine, lets just do it here."

"Do wha-" Before Peeta can finish her thought, Katniss's lips are on hers. Peeta allows herself a few moments of weakness, just a few, before she pushes Katniss away. "What are you doing?"

"Oh come on!" Katniss says with a role of her eyes. "I'm not blind. I saw the way you used to look at me. Still do sometimes." Peeta flushes at that comment. "No it's okay." Katniss croons. "I-hrk." Katniss grunts before she tries to scramble off of Peeta. Suddenly the acrid smell of vomit spreads through the room. Katniss has thrown up. Thankfully none has gotten on Peeta. However, Katniss seems a lot less stable after this. Peeta lifts the smaller girl up and carries her out to the area with tables. She sets Katniss down on one of the chairs and fills up a cup of water for her. Then she heads back into the bakery to clean up the mess. Hopefully the cake is not affected in anyways.

While she's cleaning she hears another knock. Hopefully it's not another drunk fiancé. She answers, and instead it's a drunk mentor. Haymitch collects Katniss and Peeta heads back to finish cleaning. She doesn't hear either of them leave.

Peeta finishes cleaning and goes back to her home. She sleeps for a long time until her mother comes to wake her up.

Despite being assigned to dress Gale, Portia comes to find Peeta to make her look pretty. Peeta is dressed in a flowy light lavender dress. She feels like she is in a dream and because of the night before she still feels like she's dreaming. Caesar comes to visit her bakery and Peeta spends the whole time distracted. Caesar eventually gets moody about this and Peeta tries to rededicate her attention to him. The announcer seems pleased with her attention again. They spend most of the time before the wedding with Caesar going over his plans for his narration with her. Both laugh and eat a little. Caesar seems to understand what to say around her better other Capitol citizens.

Finally the wedding starts. Peeta spends her time in the crowd, and claps when Katniss and Gale kiss. She wonders if she was Katniss's last kiss before marriage. Everyone starts to eat the giant cake that Peeta made and Peeta watches Caesar take a large bite of his cake before he makes his closing remarks about the wedding.

Suddenly the large screen that has been broadcasting the wedding switches to a broadcast of President Snow. Snow has to open a little card to explain this Quell, since the form of it is a surprise to everyone. He read out that in this third Quell, the tributes will be people who have emerged victorious from previous Games.

Peeta stands there in disbelief. Only for a few moments though, before suddenly she is off, looking for Haymitch. She finds him by the liquor, not even drinking out of a glass, but drinking straight out of the bottle.

"I assume you've heard the announcement then?"

"What do you want?" Haymitch growls out.

"I want you to make an agreement with me. The two of us go into the arena, no matter what the new couple wants to do."

"Yeah, and what do I get out of it sweetheart?"

Peeta scoffs. "You care about her. More than you care about anyone else, even yourself. You can't fool me there." Standing at her whole height, she towers above even Haymitch. "I won't make Katniss lose her husband, and I won't let Katniss go in. We're going, even if I have to drag you along."

Haymitch just grunts. Peeta decides to find Caesar next. As much as she wants to go find Katniss or even Gale, she wants to stay away from the other two. She finds all the Capitol citizens collecting their things to make a quick escape on the train back home. The Peace Keepers try to keep Peeta away, but Caesar tells them to allow Peeta in. The reluctantly let her into the room, but only give her five minutes. Portia and Effie both seem to be a mess. It is obvious they have been crying. Cinna is unreadable, and Caesar seems nervous.

"I don't need five minutes, I just wanted to say that I'll see you soon. And make sure to have a lot of liquor, Haymitch will be with me." Peeta smiles one of her big fake smiles and escorts herself out before any of them have a chance to say anything.

Then Peeta goes back to her house in the Victor's Village and starts to plan her training for the next few months.


	13. Chapter 12

Training is simple. Peeta runs and she lifts weights everyday. Eventually she starts training with other weapons too. This round, she doesn't want to use the knife again because it is a weapon where she has to be very close to the person to actually kill them. She does start working with throwing the knives and works with a spear and staff. She attempts using a bow but finds that she has absolutely no talent at it.

With all of the training she does, the days pass quickly. The months pass by too soon and the reaping comes.

The day is hot and disgusting, and Peeta doesn't want to dress up, but she puts a little effort into herself. She puts on a loose tank top that would probably be a dress on another girl. She also pulls on a very loose and airy skirt. She goes to her parents' bakery and buys a warm sweet bread. She hugs her family good bye. They all seem upset, but she assures them, everything will work out how it is supposed to.

They stand on the stage rather than the tributes usual places. It is the first time since the wedding that Peeta has seen Katniss or Gale. They both look tired and defeated.

Effie looks just as defeated as the couple. She reaches into the girl's bowl and reads out, "Katniss Everdeen."

"I volunteer as tribute." Peeta says quietly. Effie is right near her, the taller blonde doesn't need to shout. Katniss tries to say something, but Peeta ignores her presence and waits for the next name to be called.

"Haymitch Abernathy." Effie reads next, sounding even sadder than before.

Gale looks like he's considering volunteering, but both Peeta and Haymitch fix him with a look that says not to.

Haymitch has already done his part, convincing whoever is in charge of the games to let Katniss and Gale stay behind in 12 because they need no mentors since they are both victors. Before Katniss and Gale can comprehend anything, Haymitch and Peeta are escorted quickly to the train station. There is no time for goodbyes this time, and Peeta prefers it this way.

Soon Haymitch, Effie, and Peeta eat. Peeta doesn't even try to make conversation, but she feels like she can sense Delvin's ghost in the room with her. It feels like so much has happened, yet it has only been a year. Hopefully this time she is more equipped for her time in the games.

She doesn't plan on winning, but she plans on stretching out her time in the arena as long as possible. The more attention she draws to herself, the better. She keeps that in mind as they watch the reapings of the other victors. They all look vaguely familiar and they all look dangerous. She wishes she was going up against the same people as she had been in the last Hunger Games. They were all children. These are all adults. Excluding Peeta. At 17, she's the youngest tribute in the games this year. But she's nothing like Rue was. There's no angle for her to play this time. Everyone knows she's willing to kill.

Peeta stays up late that night watching the last Quarter Quell. She watches Haymitch win and doesn't know how the smart young man on the screen could become the older man she knows now. She goes to check if Haymitch is still awake, but finds his room empty. She has a feeling she knows where he is, but doesn't want to go bother her escort. Instead she retires to her room.

The next day they make it to the Capitol and soon she is with Portia once again. All of the stylists are a mess, they are practically in tears about Peeta having to go into the games. Her outfit she's fitted in is much heavier than her outfit in last years games. Portia explained that while Cinna was not working officially as a stylist this year, he did take the time to design some things for Peeta and Haymitch.

The dress and the makeup takes quite sometime, and by the time she gets down to the area for the other tributes, she is already feeling exhausted. Nevertheless, with Portia's help, Peeta has figured out the persona she wants to have for this Quell. Peeta is wearing a much higher and skimpier version of what Haymitch is wearing, but they do match. The theme seems to be coals, and both looks like they are burning from the inside out. Leave it to Cinna to create something that reminds everyone of the Girl on Fire.

As Peeta pretends to be enamored with the horse that's going to pull her chariot, she hears someone eating something behind her.

"Hello, Peeta." Peeta turns to see Finnick Odair standing near her. He is barely dressed, but Peeta pretends to not take notice. She lets a smile fill her face.

"Hi Finnick. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same." He grins. "Want a sugar cube?"

Before he can finish the rest of whatever his spiel was, Peeta grabs a few of the sugar cubes out of his hand. She pops one in her mouth. "Delicious. Just like the frosting at home."

"Ah, yes. You were supposed to inherit a bakery, weren't you? Shame about this Quell. I'm sure you would've made such a lovely little sweetie pie."

Peeta straightens herself out to her full height and she's a few inches taller than Finnick. "I'm not quite little, and I might inherit that bakery yet Finnick. I'm fresh, I haven't been out of the arena for more than a decade, like some of the victors here." She pretends to recognize someone. "Thank you for the sugar cubes Finnick." She says with a grin as she walks away. She keeps herself held high, but inside she is a mess. She doesn't know where the confidence she just had came from, perhaps from the persona she was trying to get into. Before she can get very far in whatever direction she was heading in, Haymitch grabs her by the arm.

Both blondes make their way back to the chariot and climb on. Thankfully Finnick is already at his chariot. When they finally make their way to the crowds of people, Peeta puts on her biggest smile. Peeta is going to make the citizens fall in love with her even more. She knows the other tributes have more sway then her having been around for longer, but she does have her freshness going for her. She waves and smiles and blows kisses. Haymitch just holds onto the chariot looking serious, but with Peeta next to him, he looks like an angry cat with an excited puppy as his companion.

After the parade was done, Haymitch takes Peeta over to meet the tributes from District 11. They don't remind Peeta of Rue or Thresh. Nevertheless the first thing she asks about when she gives the woman an awkward hug is their families. Seeder quickly whispers that they are okay. This makes Peeta grin.

Chaff throws an arm around Peeta then and kisses her on the side of the face. Peeta blushes and laughs. She wants to have good relationships with all the victors that will allow her too. She wonders if Haymitch will stay with Chaff to drink, but they have to head up to their quarters instead.

Johanna Mason joins Haymitch and Peeta in the lift. "I have to ask," Johanna purrs, "Did Cinna design your costumes?" Peeta nods. "I'm so jealous! Of course, it might just have to do with your look. They can put you in anything Peeta and you look amazing."

"Oh," Peeta can feel her ears heating up. Johanna was one of Peeta's crushes that she never thought she'd have a chance to interact with. "Thank you." With the other woman here, Peeta feels excessively flustered. "I think you look beautiful too Johanna."

Johanna laughs bitterly. "I'm a tree. They always dress us as the same things. I remember your grey outfit from the last parade. It looked so gorgeous, I wanted to reach through the screen and tear it right off your back."

Peeta knows this is probably supposed to be some sort of threat, but she feels her face heating up even hotter nonetheless.

"Can you unzip me?" She says turning her back towards Peeta. "I don't want to be in this hot mess any longer than I have to be." Peeta obliges and is beyond shocked when Johanna spends the rest of the elevator ride in nothing but her slippers. Peeta can't even control her embarrassment, she knows her face must be rivaling the flames at this point.

When everyone finally clears out of the elevator leaving Haymitch and her, Peeta hears the older man mutter, "Well this explains a lot." under his breathe. Peeta pretends not to hear, but when they get to their floor Peeta rushes to her room saying she is not hungry. She spends over an hour in the shower then, thinking over everything she will need to do in the next few days.

She wakes early the next morning with her stomach growling. She is happy to see the table is laid out with tons of delicious food. She starts to make herself a plate when she sees the Avoxes come into the room. One is the same red head from the year before, but the next is one of the old Peace Keepers. She knew Katniss, Gale, and him had been close. She suddenly feels less hungry, but she knows she should eat. She escapes back into her room after that, feeling very guilty.

She ends up venturing out again for another plate of food later in the morning and runs into Haymitch and Effie. There is an interesting air about the two of them this year. Effie seems much more defeated and does not even try to stop Haymitch from drinking. The way she looks at the man now seems more fond.

Soon Peeta and Haymitch are down at the training center. They decide to split up. Peeta agrees mostly because she is hoping Haymitch will try to get the other tributes to like her. She wonders if this is in vain. Perhaps Haymitch was already planning Peeta's death. Either way, Peeta decides to be friendly with everyone. She doubts any of them will want to be her ally, but perhaps they will put off killing her or in the very least, kill her quickly.

The days of training pass quickly because Peeta tries to get into the same routine she had at home. She runs and she lifts weights before she goes to each different station. She gets along with all of the tributes, even the ones from District 1 and 2. She practices throwing knives with the siblings and practices fighting with the swords with both victors from District 2. No one seems to dislike her, but no one shows any interest in forming alliances either. Even with the lunches she had with many of them, it always felt as if she was the child at the adults table. The only person she really feels any connection to is the only other volunteer, an old woman named Mags from District 4.

By the time it comes around to get rated, Peeta feels like she's used up every bit energy and charm that she has. She doesn't know what she could do to impress the game makers, and she doesn't even know if she wants to.

Some of the tributes plan to showcase their talents, but even more are going to just do what they want. Chaff talks of how he will tell jokes. Mags says she plans on taking a nap. Peeta wonder if Finnick will flirt and if Johanna will strip. Since everyone plans to do things that they enjoy, Peeta decides that she will do the same. As the female from District 12, she is scheduled to go last. She doubts they will give her any attention.

So once Haymitch is done, Peeta strolls into the area, calm. She knows what she wants to do. She grabs all the paint she can and begins to make a large mural. When she finishes, she smiles pleased with her work.

She hears someone above her mention that he time is up before they suddenly gasp. Peeta doesn't think her painting is worth that reaction, but as more file to see what she has done and the murmurs get louder and more shocked, she realizes that maybe it is. She has painted Rue as she had left her covered in flowers.

The Head Game Maker seems displeased with this display. "You may leave Miss Mellark." Peeta smiles bright and does a curtsy before she goes.

When she tells Haymitch and Effie what she did, they both seem upset. Effie leaves the table and after a quick lecture Haymitch follows her. Peeta could care less. So she'll get a bad score, it's not as if she had expected to get anything that high.

The longer she sits there alone, the more she realizes exactly why she wanted to draw Rue. If just for a moment, she wanted to hold the Gamemakers responsible for killing the young girl. She's glad she didn't say this aloud though, it probably would have upset Effie even more. Portia comes to join Peeta.

"I heard about what you did from Effie." Portia says as she makes herself a plate of food. "Cinna designed a dress he wanted you to wear at the interviews. I wasn't to sure about it because I wanted to design what you were going to wear." Portia pauses for a moment. "But I think it might be better if we went with his plan."

Peeta just fills her plate with food again. "I want to wear whatever you want me to wear Portia. I would never doubt your judgement." That makes Portia smile.

Soon, everyone regathers in front of the TV to watch the scoring. Cashmere, Gloss, Enobaria, Brutus, and Finnick all score high. It doesn't surprise Peeta. The rest score relatively low, even Johanna. Haymitch scores a 4, and Peeta can't help but wonder what he did.

Peeta is shocked when she sees her score though. It was not the 0 she was expecting, it was a 12.


	14. Chapter 13

Peeta spends the next day alone. Effie has decided that since Peeta has already been interviewed once before, she doesn't need to be coached. So Peeta spends most of the morning in her room doing different exercises that she can in the small space. She goes to the roof in the afternoon. She takes a nice long nap in the sunlight. When the sun starts to set, she wakes. She watched the sun set and thinks of Katniss. She touches her lips. Tomorrow was her last chance at prolonged survival. If there's one thing she was skilled at it was the interview section.

She ate a lot when she went downstairs for dinner and then retired to her room. She wanted to sleep as much as possible, suddenly the year of not sleeping much felt like it was catching up to her.

The next morning breaks Peeta's spirits too quickly. Her prep team doesn't seem to be able to look at her, many of them have tears over flowing out of her eyes. When Portia finally comes into relieve them, they all hug her very tightly. She almost start to cry when they leave, but Peeta knows it would ruin their hard work.

"Peeta," Portia says softly. "Did you ever want to get married?"

Peeta is confused by the question. "Perhaps." She finally answers. "I don't know who would marry me though. But the wedding always seemed so beautiful." Even in the same rented dress that almost all the women in District 12 wore for their wedding, each woman looked excessively beautiful. Peeta wondered if her parents would splurge for the one her mother wore when Peeta got married, but Peeta would never find that out now. "Why?"

Portia pulls out a beautiful white dress. "I wanted to dress you as a bride for this interview. Cinna agreed. He said to be careful about raising your arms though. He said you could probably do it once if Caesar wants you to twirl, but Cinna suggested you do that towards the end of your interview. Do you want to put it on?"

Peeta nods. The whole process takes nearly the rest of the day. The dress is so much heavier than anything Peeta has ever worn, but with all her weight lifting and exercise, it isn't too difficult. When she sees herself in the dress, she can't help but think that she looks like an angel.

Haymitch is in a simple grey suit that reminds her of the one Delvin wore the year before. He seems surprised at Peeta's outfit.

"I'm gonna look like I'm walking a bride down the aisle next to you." Haymitch says gruffly.

"That's the idea!" Portia says with a happy chirp.

Effie seems in love with the dress and can't stop starring. When they finally get down the where the interviews are taking place, Peeta suddenly feels as if maybe she is too dressed up. People seem to hault their conversations to look at her, and it feels like all eyes are judging. For someone who always liked to be in the background, Peeta feels like she stands out too much in the dress. But perhaps it is not just the dress, but her score. Nevertheless, Peeta tries to hold herself together.

Cashmere seems to be giving her some mix of anger and admiration, but simply ignores her to get in line for the interview. Peeta can not categorize the look that Johanna is giving her.

Each of the tributes who is still cognitive enough to incite some emotion in the audience does so. Cashmere and Gloss talk about how they will miss the citizens and hope the citizens will miss them. Beetee is smart, Finnick is flirty, and Johanna is angry. Chaff and Seeder both question President Snow. The audience is all worked up when Peeta finally steps out, but her in her dress seems to silence them.

"Wow." Caesar says in what sounds like pure awe. "Peeta, you look beautiful."

Peeta smiles bashfully before hugging the older man. "Thank you Caesar."

"May I asked why you're dressed.." Caesar seems to be struggling to find the right word, "like this?"

"Oh!" Peeta lets herself blush. "I had always hoped that one day I would find true love and get married." She admits. "But now, since I won't have the chance, I wanted to at least wear a wedding dress. I know it's a little too much," She says, batting her eyes and hoping it makes her look younger. "But it was something I really wanted."

"Well you look absolutely breath taking." Caesar seems to be struggling for words too much with her. Peeta wants their witty banter, but she doesn't even know how she would achieve it. Finally the older man seems to find something to question her on. "I'm sure if you make if back to District 12 though, there will be dozens of people who want to marry you."

Peeta doesn't know what to say then, so instead she directs attention to the dress. "Maybe they'll let me wear this." She says with a grin. "Isn't it so beautiful?" She stands to twirl then, lifting her arms. It wasn't as if the conversation was going anywhere. As she twirls she hears screams, and wonders if it is because of how beautiful the dress is. But then she smells smoke. She looks down and realizes that her dress is burning away. Once again, a call to Katniss, but Peeta doesn't mind. She wonders if this was why the gown was so heavy. She lifts her arms and realizes now that she wasn't meant to just be on fire, she was meant to be a symbol: The mockingjay.

Caesar reaches out to pluck a feather off of her now. "You're like a bird."

"A mockingjay, I think." Peeta says. "It's the bird on the pin that Katniss wears. It seems that District 12 has stopped using the old coal miner trick and started to model us after previous victors." She hopes this comes off as a joke.

Caesar laughs a little. "I'm surprised they didn't dye you're hair brown!"

"Oh, they would never!" Peeta says with a laugh. "And here I thought I was getting to wear a pretty wedding dress." She adds. "Thank god this happened now."

"Ah, yes, we'd hate for you to go up in flames at your wedding." Caesar says with a laugh. The banter Peeta had been hoping for finally comes when the interview is coming to a close. She doesn't know if Haymitch will be able to rouse the audience back to the frenzy they had been in before. Things didn't go according to Peeta's plan, and she knows Cinna had something to do with it. Hopefully she still looked like the clueless young tribute being sent off to the arena. But even if she now looked like she was trying to incite a rebellion, it didn't matter. She would be dead soon.

Haymitch is surly and reminds her of Gale. When he is asked if he has any last words, he starts to talk about his geese. "I want Katniss and Gale to let them go." He says, like it's an order. "I think they'll try to eat them. They'll set them on fire and eat my geese." He sounds like a drunk old man. "I don't want them to do that. Set my geese free and let them run away. I don't want them to get killed in District 12. Let the predators out in the forrest get them, but let them be free." The way he says it so seriously really makes it seem like Haymitch is beyond drunk. "Do it now!" He says with a shout. "Before I go into the games and die. Let all of them out of their cage so no one kills them when I'm dead." Caesar finally calms Haymitch down and the last interview is done. Haymitch makes his way back to his seat. Peeta grabs his hand to steady him, and then on impulse grabs Chaff's wrist since he is so close. As Caesar tries to finish his closing remarks, something amazing happens. The tributes all grab hands. They try to cut the power, but with the lighting behind the victors, everyone watching the broadcast can see. For one brief moment, they are all united.

Everything after that is a mess. The tributes are rushed to their rooms. Effie goes to Haymitch's and Portia comes to Peeta's.

"Don't come tomorrow morning." Peeta says gravely. "In the mess of everything, find an excuse. Get here too late. It's okay."

"Why?" Portia seems confused. "I still don't understand what happened with the dress."

"Neither do I." Peeta says with a shake of her head. "But with my score of 12 and with the way my dress made me become a target, I don't think I am safe to be around." Peeta holds Portia's hand in her. "Please."

Portia finally agrees.

Peeta sleeps, but the next morning comes too fast. She is surprised to see Effie there, but glad that Portia is not around. Without a stylist, Peeta is left to her own devices on the hovercraft to the arena. She does her hair into a tight ponytail. She eats and drinks until they take the food away. When they reach the Launch Room a Peace Keeper helps her with getting into her outfit for the games. He is there to make sure Peeta gets into the circular metal plate. When the time comes, Peeta gets on with no resistance. Then raised up into the arena. Her eyes takes awhile to adjust and when she finally realizes what is surrounding her, she is terrified.

There is water spreading out in every direction.

To be presented with such a challenge this early in the game devastates Peeta. So when it finally comes time to leave the podium, she simply gives up. She plops herself down right at the podium and lets her feet dip into the water. She will either sit there until it explodes, or wait until one of the tributes comes out to kill her. She never learned how to swim, and she doesn't want to die drowning. So she waits. From where she sits, she sees everything go down at the Cornocopia. Finick and Haymitch make what looks like an alliance and fight off the Career tributes from the Cornocopia. When they get what they want, they escape to the sandy part of the beach so far away. Peeta also watches Johanna run off with Beetee and Wiress. She wonders how that alliance formed. Then she sits and wonders what will happen next.

Peeta is now the only tribute left on the plate. Even Mags has made her way into the water and is headed towards Haymitch and Finnick. She wonders if she will explode or if one of the Careers will come out to kill her. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she sees Finnick diving into the water. So it was the latter. One of the careers is coming out to kill her. The victor doesn't have a weapon with him though. She wonders if he is going to drown her with his bare hands.

"What are you doing?" Finnick asked when he got to her.

Peeta splashes her feet. "Just enjoying my first time this close to the ocean. Watching the waves. Pretending people aren't murdering each other. It's nice."

Finnick seems to pause a moment in the water. He grins. "Haymitch owes me money now, he bet you'd finally cracked. But you can't swim."

"Great deduction there. Nice to see you're more than just a pretty face."

Finnick reaches a hand out. "Well lets go princess. Don't want you to turn to sea foam, lets get you to the shore."

Peeta looks down at the other victor warily. "You're going to help me?" She says with an arched brow.

"That's the plan. But lets go, you're wasting time we don't really have." Peeta reluctantly decides to trust him, and it pays off. He doesn't drown Peeta, instead he helps her make her way to shore. Haymitch and Mags are there.

Peeta dries her hair out quickly and soon they decide to head towards the forest. Finnick hoists Mags onto his back. Peeta decides to trust the group. Even if they don't keep her around for long, for now, it doesn't hurt her chances to stay near them. They trek through the forrest and don't find any sources of water. It worries Peeta.

The group gives her a knife to protect herself, and she tries to make herself useful by slashing through vines and other bits of the tropical forrest that might get in the way of the other victors. As the tallest, she puts herself in front to make sure there's space for everyone else behind her.

Suddenly, as she makes a slash to cut a vine away from her path, there is a sudden jolt of energy that knocks her right out.

She wakes with a cough with all three victors kneeling down close to her.

"Forcefields." Haymitch explains. "Can't tell if they're here to keep us out or keep us in this area."

Peeta knows Haymitch has pretty good knowledge of the force fields. They are what he used to win the games twenty five years ago. The rest of the day is spent wandering through the exotic forest. Eventually they get more and more thirsty and start to worry about that. Almost right on cue, a package drops from the sky. They figure out that it is a spile. They use it to get water out of the trees. Once they drink their fill, Haymitch and Finnick go off to hunt for some food. Peeta stays behind with Mags. The night comes eventually, and Haymitch and FInnick agree to take the watch for the night since Peeta had been hurt by the force field.


	15. Chapter 14

Peeta drifts to sleep, but eventually is roused by Haymitch shaking her awake. He yells at her to run and she grabs Mags and does. Mags is barely seventy pounds, and with the weight lifting she's been doing it doesn't feel like anything at first. She's only been running a short distance when she realizing that everything in her body feels like it doesn't want to follow her commands. Soon, before she can even comprehend it, she falls forward. Mags gets off of her back and tries to help her up. Peeta's whole body is shaking and burning. Finnick and Haymitch catch up and try to help Peeta too, but with her height over both of them, it's like buffalo trying to help a giraffe.

"Go on." Peeta demands. "I'll catch up." Haymitch and Finnick both look like they're feeling the same effect as her. "Help Mags." Haymitch loops her arm around his neck instead and tries to drag her along as her legs shake. "Haymitch please! Go!"

Seconds later they hear a cannon go off. They whip their heads around to find Finnick on his knees looking shocked. Further into the fog lies what Peeta thinks is Mags. "No!" She shouts, trying to turn around to grab the older woman. Finnick stands, looking broken and loops Peeta's other arm around him. Helping each other, they try to press on through the fog.

Finally, they all collapse. Peeta wonders if this is how they will die, all there together. It would make the pickup of them easier. But instead, Peeta starts to feel like her head is a little clearer. When she looks up at the forest, she can see monkeys in the trees. She realizes that the fog has dissipated. From there, the three struggle their way towards the water. They make it.

Peeta is not exactly sure what the point of coming here was, but when Finick goes into the water, she sees that it is draining whatever was in the fog out of him. She strips off her suit and goes into the water too, Haymitch following.

They stay there for the next few hours, just trying to get the feeling back into their bodies. Peeta stays close to the shore because she can't swim, but both Haymitch and Finnick seem to know what to do in the water. They start to get thirsty, so Peeta offers to go get water. At first she's worried that they may have lost the spile, but Haymitch has it around his neck. He must have made the rope with a vine. When she puts enough distance between her and the men, she finally allows herself to cry. She still doesn't understand why Mags did what she did and can't believe the older woman is gone.

All too soon things are going wrong though. When Haymitch and Finnick try to coax her back to the water, she startles some monkeys. Then in a flurry of being attacked and trying to fight off the beasts, another tribute shows up to save Peeta's life. One of the morphlings from District 6. The monkeys disperse quickly after that, and with strength Peeta didn't think she had, she carries the woman to the ocean.

Haymitch and Finnick have seemed to disappeared, perhaps collecting their weapons from the attack. So Peeta sits there alone with the dying woman clutching her hand tight. She doesn't know what to say, so she talks about paints. She remembers seeing the morphings play with them during training. As she talks the tribute lifts a hand up to her face and paints something with her blood. "Thank you, it's beautiful." She whispers. The morphling smiles and then, too soon, she's gone. The cannon fires. Peeta brings the woman out to the water and lets her go. Then she dunks her face under the water and opens her eyes wide. Any tears she had can be taken by the ocean.

Haymitch and Finnick come back and tell Peeta to sleep. Peeta obliges.

"Peeta." Peeta hears a man say. "Peeta, wake up." Peeta opens her eyes to two green faced creatures only inches away from her. With no weapon around her, and being slightly disoriented, she does they only thing she can think of. She screams.

It makes the creatures laugh, and that's when she recognizes them. Haymitch and Finnick have covered their faces in something and they look disgusting. After Peeta finishes being mad at them, they take the time to explain to her what is going on. She takes some of their medication and puts it on the parts of her that are covered in the rash.

While she does that a new gift drops from the sky. It is bread from District 4. The three eat it with shellfish that Finnick has collected. Haymitch makes comments about how everything would taste better with alcohol. Finnick says things would taste better if he had prettier company, and Peeta pretends to be offended but mostly just stuffs her face.

They sit there for some time before everything seems to start to vibrate. From where they are at, they watch an enormous wave run through a section of the forrest. The three manage to collect their things before the water comes up to high on their area. When they recognize that something alive has washed up on the beach close to them, they head slightly further into the jungle.

Finnick recognizes them, and Peeta follows after the two men as they make their way to Johanna, Wiress, and Beetee. All three are covered in blood, so they go into the water in pairs. Peeta ends up with Wiress who is simply repeating the phrase "Tick, tock." Over and over. She helps the woman wash herself of the blood, but finds that even her clothes underneath are soaked through. She has the other woman strip and crouch in the water while Peeta tries to get the blood to come out as best as she can. Once that is done, she helps wash Wiress's hair and takes the time to comb hers out with her fingers. Then they decide to lay their clothes on the rocks to dry. It reminds Peeta of her time in the last game. They go to eat, and while Beetee and Johanna eat a lot, getting Wiress to eat is a lot harder. Finally most of the group decides to try and get a little rest. Since Peeta's got more than enough sleep, she volunteers to keep watch. Johanna stays up with her.

They sit in silence for a long time before opens her mouth. She looks as if she's about to say something important, but then Wiress wakes up. This irritates the younger woman, so she goes off to lay with Finnick while Peeta stays with Wiress.

As they sit there and Wiress repeats Tick Tock over and over, Peeta wonders if it has any meaning. Then suddenly, Peeta hears twelve large gongs. They almost sound like an alarm. "Clock!" Peeta exclaims. "It's a clock! You were right!"

Wiress seems so relieved then. "Midnight." Peeta nods. She thinks she understands what the other woman is saying. They wake the others and Peeta tries to explain. They decide they need to try to move to somewhere safer. Wiress gets some food and water into her body and they decide to move. They collect everything, including a wire Beetee seems attached to. Peeta assumes its because he won his game with electricity, and the wire might allow him to do this again. She wonders if he could use the lightning to do this.

They decide to go to the Cornocopia. Peeta thinks there are still twelve tributes left in the game. She wonders how far she will make it this time. She can't imagine this group will stay together for too much longer as the number of tributes goes down. While she thinks about the different possibilities for who will win the games, the others try to figure out how the clock works, excluding Wiress who is singing and washing Beetee's wire. Peeta decides to try and help with that and draws out a map of what the arena could be like. While they talk about the possible traps, they realize that Wiress has stopped singing. Peeta is suddenly shoved behind Haymitch as he grabs a nearby spear and throw it into Gloss's stomach. Cashmere is taken out by Johanna who uses an axe that Peeta didn't even realize she had. Something happens to FInnick as he tries to protect Peeta from a spear. The two other careers run off towards the jungle, and before they can make chase, everything starts to spin. Finnick slips off into the water, or at least Peeta thinks he does. Johanna reaches towards Peeta and they lock arms. Peeta closes her eyes and hops that everything will be over soon, while clutching to Johanna. It jerks to a stop that makes Peeta almost lose everything she's eaten.

Finnick comes up out of the water with the wire in his hand and then tory try to collect Beetee. They try to figure out where the safest place to go would be, but with the spinning it just causes confusion. They decide to split to get water. Peeta offers to do it, but Johanna makes her stay behind to make a map of the clock again. She doesn't see how that will help, but she starts a new one anyway.

Only a few minutes have passed when Beetee seems to notice something. A new forcefield has come up to separate them from something. Soon Peeta realizes who. Haymitch and FInnick appear, looking beyond stressed and worried. They come close to them but seem to realize the forcefield is there. Then suddenly, birds surround them. Whatever sound the birds are making is working Haymitch and Finnick into a frenzy. For an entire hour they can only watch as the men curl up into themselves. Finally the forcefield comes down and Peeta rushes to Haymitch. Though they have had little interaction, she wraps her arms around the older man, trying to calm him down. She wishes for nothing more than the sponsors to drop down some alcohol for him.

After sometime, Beetee is able to convince them that the screams they heard were fake. Johanna goes to collect water on her own. Peeta wonders whose screams she would hear. Her family? Delvin's? Katniss's? She doesn't have to find out.

Peeta fixes the map with what she knows. As night comes, they watch the faces of the tributes play. Two thirds of the tributes are gone. All that's left are the group, the careers, and Chaff. Peeta hopes they find Chaff so Haymitch has someone else here for him. Soon a parachute comes down with 24 pieces of bite sized bread from Beetee's district. They split them up, eat, and then soon start shifts for the night. Peeta asks for the one in the early morning. She hopes she can watch the sunrise. It is always her favorite part of the games.

She is woken by Johanna who sits and watches the sunrise with her. At one point, their hands touch in the sand. Peeta doesn't move an inch but she knows her face is probably very red. "Too bad we didn't meet outside of the arena, blondie." Johanna says as she stands to head towards where Finnick was sleeping. "I bet we'd have made an interesting pair."

Peeta sits there considering her words. Later in the day, everyone wakes up and Beetee explains his plan on how to kill the Careers. It's seems complicated and confusing, but Peeta just nods along with it since Haymitch seems convinced.

the rest of the day goes quickly, reminding Peeta of a picnic. They eat the bread they keep getting sent to them, and they eat all the food Haymitch of Finnick get. Haymitch stick to the forrest for nuts and rodents, and Finnick sticks to the ocean for oysters and fish. Finnick gets Haymitch and Peeta to come in the water and Peeta realizing that their scabs from the fog are all coming off. She feels pink and new.

As soon as night falls they set into motion. Peeta is put with Johanna to take the wire down to the water. She is pretty sure Johanna will probably kill her before she comes back to the group, but she's decided this is probably how it will be. They make their way down to the beach about half way there suddenly the wire starts to coil. Someone has severed the wire. Peeta reaches for her knife and then something comes crashing down on her head.

Peeta wakes with her arm bleeding. She feels disoriented. Everything is quiet and too calm. She decides to stay as quiet as possible and try to see if she can find anyone. She doesn't know what time it is and she doesn't know where anyone else is. She grabs moss off of the tree and packs it on her wound. She checks and sees that she still has her knife. She doesn't understand what's happened.

She wanders for a few moments, feeling confused and disoriented. Then suddenly there is rustling in the trees. Chaff comes crashing through the area with Brutus right behind him. Both look surprised to see Peeta. Before Peeta can question what is happening, Brutus throws a spear at her, and Chaff dives in front of it. Without hesitating, Peeta pulls her knife out. Hopefully Brutus doesn't have any other weapons on him. She charges at him then, knocking him to the ground. He doesn't have time to register what is happening before plunges her knife into his chest.

Then the sky seems to explode. It reminds her the Careers' food exploded, but tens time worse. The earth seems to shake. Things catch on fire. The sky lights up. Peeta realizes it is from something the Gamemakers must be doing. She gets off of Brutus. She wonders if this explosion has caused the cannons to not go off.

Peeta stumbles further away as much as she can until she lets herself fall forward on the forest floor. She did not think this would be how she would die in the games, but she supposed confused and tired is just as good as a way as any.


	16. Chapter 15

Peeta wakes in a small little apartment. She explores the place. There is a bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen. It is simple and clean. There are no doors to leave the place. It reminds her of the room where she was kept after the Hunger Games. For a few days, she lets herself think that this may be her purgatory, but she has a nagging feeling that she is alive.

Her skin glows like it has been given the treatment that is given after games. She spends her days cooking in her kitchen or lying in bed trying to ignore her thoughts. There is nothing for her to do.

Then finally, after what Peeta thinks has been about a week and a half, she wakes in a different place. She is made up by a team of stylists she has never seen before, and an escort she has never seen explains to her what is to happen. Caesar will be interviewing Peeta about the games.

In a turn of event Peeta does not see coming, President Snow shows up with Peacekeepers. He explains to Peeta what is happening. There is war in Panem. He instructs her what to say when Caesar asks her about her feelings on the war, if he does. Peeta listens closely and memorizes what he wants. An order from the president is not something she is going to disobey. Not yet at least. She still doesn't understand all the details of what is currently happening.

With time before the interview, they let Peeta watch the last hour of game footage that they have. She watches as Johanna attaches her and carves something out of her arm. She sees Haymitch and Beetee make something with Finnick's trident and Beetee's wire. She watches Haymitch climb high up into a tree and wait for a signal from Beetee. They Haymitch throws the trident with a strength Peeta has never seen from him. Then everything explodes and the video cuts out.

After that Peeta is escorted to where the interview will take place. She sits on the chair they have provided in her plain blue dress and waits for Caesar to appear. Perhaps he'll know more about what has happened. But when the older man appears he is tight lipped and serious. Peeta decides to mirror his behavior. The camera turns on.

Caesar seems to shift a little to get more comfortable. He stares at her for a few moments. "So… Peeta… welcome back."

Peeta smiles weakly. "I bet you thought you'd done your last interview with me, Caesar."

Caesar seems honestly insulted by this. "You were going against a lot of talented competition Peeta, but never doubt my belief in your capabilities." Caesar pauses. "I will admit though, I'm a bit surprised to see you here. We all heard a cannon go off for your death when Johanna stabbed you in the arm."

"Really?" This is information Peeta didn't know.

"Yes, she must have shorted out your tracker they put in at the beginning of the games."

"Why?" Peeta suddenly asks.

Caesar laughs a little at her outburst. "I'm the one who is supposed to be asking questions here Peeta. So why don't you tell us about the last night in the arena?" He suggests. "There's quite a lot everybody is trying to sort out."

Peeta takes a few moments to try and sort her thoughts out. "It's so hard to explain something that so many people will never understand. When you're in that arena it's like you're stuck under a microscope being examined, and everything little thing you do can lead to your death. And this arena was so much worse than the one I was in last year. It was like being trapped under a bowl filled with dozens of things that will kill you. If the tropical forrest didn't kill you, there was always the chance you could drown. And it had only been two days and already two thirds of the tributes were gone. Dead, and some of them because of me. And once we figured out how the arena worked, it just made everything worse. You knew in the next hour something horrible would happen and more people would died. It's like you forget who you are outside of the arena. That little space you're in is the last thing you will ever see. And as bad as it makes you feel, if you wanna survive, you're going to have to kill."

"If you don't you'll lose your life." Caesar adds.

Peeta laughs bitterly then. "Even if you survive, you lose your life. You're murdering people who shouldn't have to die. You'll lose everything you were, you're never the same again. I never planned on surviving this Hunger Games. I survived one on dumb luck, but against the victors, I knew I didn't have a chance. So I still don't understand why everyone was keeping me alive."

Peeta is surprised Caesar hasn't interrupted her yet. "When I asked for the sunrise shift that last night, it was because I wanted to see one beautiful thing before I died. That whole last day was such a blur to me, and went I went off with Johanna, I expected that she was going to be the one to kill me."

"When you went down to the water to bring the coil to pull off Beetee's plan to electrify the salt lake." Caesar says to clarify. "Then Johanna knocked you out."

Peeta nods. "I was so surprised and confused when I woke up. I just stumbled around trying to figure everything out."

"The cameras didn't even catch you. They didn't realize to look for you because we all thought you were dead. When Chaff and Brutus found you, no one could believe you were alive."

"I still can't believe I'm alive." Peeta admits. "There's so much that happened that I don't understand. No one's explained anything except that there's apparently a war going on?" Peeta hears her voice crack in confusion. "I just saw the footage where Haymitch throws the trident. I can't figure anything out."

"It seems like a good portion of the victors must have been involved in the rebels' plans." Caesar says, as if that somehow explains what has happened.

"But what was their plan?" Peeta runs a hand through her hair before remembering it has been styled. "What did attacking the arena from the inside out accomplish?"

"I'm sorry Peeta." Caesar says with a somber face. "I don't have any answers. We can stop now if you want."

"Was there more to discuss?" Peeta asks feeling defeated.

"I was going to ask your thoughts in the war, but if you're too confused…"

"Yes, I'm confused, but I know how I feel about this war." Peeta says, remembering everything she's been instructed to say. "I want everyone watching - whether you're on the Capitol or the rebel side - to stop for just a moment and think about what this war could mean. We can't fight one another. There won't be enough of us left to keep going. If everybody doesn't lay down their weapons soon it's all over."

"So...you're calling for a cease-fire?" Caesar asks.

"Yes. I'm calling for a cease-fire," says Peeta tiredly. "Now can I be excused? I'm confused and not feeling well."

Caesar turns to the camera. "All right. I think that wraps it up. So back to our regularly scheduled programming."

The camera cuts off and two Peacekeepers appear behind Peeta. They escort her to an empty room. She sits there waiting for a long period of time. Suddenly she feels a prick in her neck and she collapses o the table, unconscious.

When she wakes again she is in a type of holding cell. She is clad in only a pair of shorts and a tank top that does not cover her stomach. Her long hair falls around her face. On her wrists she finds two silver bands.

She eventually learns that these are like metallic handcuffs, that stick to whatever surface they need too. Once she's placed in the cell, her life begins to have a pattern. She sleeps when she's allowed, she's given enough food to keep her alive, and when she's not eating or sleeping, she is being tortured.

The faceless Peacekeepers whip her and electrocute her and hurt her until she either passes out or tells them something they want to hear. She always passes out.

The cell she is in is next to Annie, Enobaria, and Effie. They don't know enough about what is happening outside of the cells. Enobaria is tougher than Peeta, Annie, and Effie combined, so when they torture her, it barely seems to have an effect. The other women know as little as Peeta.

Sometimes, when they want to make a point, they'll show Peeta clips of the rebels and their propos. It comforts Peeta to see that Katniss is still alive.

Sometimes they let things slip and Peeta learns about what happened after the games. Johanna, Haymitch, Finnick, and Beetee all made it out of the arena to join the rebels. District 12 was bombed and Peeta's whole family is dead. Usually Peeta cries for the torture, but sometimes she cries from learning that all the people who loved her are dead.

This tortuous pattern continues for about five weeks before Peeta is taken to get remade in one of the remake centers. As they remake her, covering her bruises and new scars with makeup and pretty clothing, they show Peeta a new propo. In it Katniss looks directly at the camera and addresses Peeta. The Girl on Fire stands in front of the charred remains of the Mellark Bakery. "Peeta, this is your home. None of your family has been heard of since the bombing. Twelve is gone. And you're calling for a cease-fire? There's no one left to hear you."

Her stylists expect her to cry then, but instead Peeta laughs. The movement jerks her whole body and makes her feel pain, but she can't help it. Peeta already knows she has nothing left. She spends each day wondering if that will be the day she dies. But it appears the Capitol still has plans for her.

She is dressed in a light gray dress that covers her from the neck down. It is very tight though, and most definitely shows off how malnourished she has become. They set her up in a chair in front of the map of Panem. She sits there ramrod straight. After President Snow gives the sign, she starts talking of the cease fire again. All the words feel jumbled in her mouth. Something she used to be so good at feels so pointless now. She knows her voice sounds empty of everything, but Peeta can't bring herself to care. She is fake no longer, she is just empty.

As she talks, something goes wrong. The rebels must have hacked into the system, because their props play. Everyone in the Capitol will see them now. She continues on with her speech, well aware that no one will care now. Once again she is upstaged by Katniss and she welcomes it. Finally they seem to work everything out. With sudden clarity, Peeta hears Snow mummer to bomb District 13. Then the President grabs onto Peeta's bruised arm and drags her over to stand near him as the camera's come back on.

"The rebels are now attempting to disrupt the dissemination of information they find incriminating, but both truth and justice will prevail." President Snow explains. "Do you have any parting thoughts for Miss Everdeen?"

Snow's clutch on her arm feels like it is breaking her already fragile bones. "How do you think this will end?" Peeta says to the camera. "What will be left? No one is safe. Not in the Capitol. Not in the districts. And you…" She pauses. "in Thirteen…" She inhales sharply before shouting quickly. "Dead by morning!"

"End it!" Snow demands. In the confusion everything seems to be going wrong. Before Peeta can comprehend she is being backhanded across the face and she falls to the ground. She can feel that her lip has split yet again. She almost grins, but it feels like that will take energy she doesn't have. She slips into sweet unconsciousness and hopes she never wakes.


	17. Chapter 16

When Peeta does finally wake it feels as if she is waking from heavy sedation. Her neck aches as if someone had been strangling her. She sits up and looks around the cell she has been placed in. It looks the same, but something feels wrong. She can see Enobaria in the cell across from her looking at her with what almost looks like pity in her eyes.

When she tries to ask why Enobaria is starring like that, she realizes she can't. She sticks her tongue out of her mouth on reflex trying to make sure it is still there. She can feel it and move it, but still no sound comes out of her mouth.

"Don't be dumb." Enobaria says. "After what you did I'm surprised they didn't just rip your tongue out." Peeta desperately tries to say something anything, but nothing. "You'll just hurt yourself if you keep that up."

So Peeta stops. She curls up on herself and cries. Peeta is given a day of recovery, and then the torture starts up again. Sometimes the cells get switched around. She gets to see Annie, one of the tributes who went mad. Peeta can't talk to her anymore and it gets her upset. Annie is always so understanding though. She gets to see Effie, and that causes her to go into a big crying fit. Enobaria is the only one Peeta can see and not react to harshly. She is the constant Peeta looks to when her mind fills with thoughts that she can no longer voice.

Then one day, she doesn't wake in the cell. Instead she wakes on a hospital bed some place she can't recognize. She sits herself up and sees that most of her injuries are still fresh. Suddenly, Prim appears.

First Peeta thinks she is dreaming, but Prim checks her vitals and explains things and Peeta realizes that she is in District 13. Peeta puts her hands over her mouth to try and explain something, and Prim is smart enough to get her a paper and pen.

"To whoever makes the propos: You should do a shoot with us before our injuries heal." Peeta writes. She thinks a moment and then crosses out the word us and writes me. She makes a note at the bottom. "Not Effie or Annie. Or Enobaria unless she wants too." Prim looks over the note before she walks out quickly to give it to someone.

When Prim comes back she has a large notepad of paper and she hands it to Peeta.

Portia rushes in and hugs Peeta so tightly that Peeta realizes how weak she has become. Peeta clutches Portia as if she's something the blonde fears she will soon lose. Portia touches Peeta's face with gentle hands as if she's afraid Peeta will suddenly disappear. Both women are crying.

"You saved my life Peeta." Portia says as tears stream down her face. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you. I can't believe this has happened to you. It's so wrong." This causes both of them to start crying even harder.

A woman Peeta doesn't recognize is also with Portia. Her stylist introduces her as Cressida, the director of the propos. Once Peeta calms down enough, the woman speaks. She is holding Peeta's piece of paper.

"How could we use you for a propo if you can't even speak anymore?"

Peeta doesn't know how to explain it, so she sketches out the idea quickly. Cressida seems to get the idea and agrees to shot as soon as Peeta is ready.

"We need to do it now." Peeta writes on her pad of paper. Cressida nods and collects a team.

They find an empty room that they shoot in. The content is simple. Peeta stands naked and the camera pans around, catching each bruise, cut, and scar in an unforgiving light. When they reach her face, she allows the tears to fall freely. What they will do with the footage, Peeta does not know. She hopes they are able to convey the point that she can no longer talk because of the Capitol. There is a lot she wants to hold the Capitol accountable, but selfishly, their taking of her voice is one of her biggest reasons.

Peeta refuses any medication to help her with the pain, as does Enobaria. She doesn't know if the District 2 woman is doing it out of pride or because of the same reasons Peeta does. Peeta doesn't want to get addicted to any substances, alcohol and morphling included. For about a month, Peeta and Enobaria struggle through getting better. When given the chance they exercise. Eventually they stop listening to the doctors and exercise even when told not too. Peeta doesn't really see a reason to, but copying what Enobaria does is a good way to tire herself out so sleeping is easier.

Peeta is also utilized to write scripts for propos, make food, and paint symbols for the rebels.

Then, the wedding for Finnick and Annie is announced. Peeta gets even busier then. She is in charge of a lot, from decoration to food. She also is one of the co-writers for the propo about the wedding. She wants to get all natural shots mostly because she doesn't want to disrupt the wedding. Almost a month passes when the wedding finally happens. Everything is pulled off perfectly.

Almost. Gale and Katniss seem determined to ignore each other. Peeta decides to not worry about any of this. She has been working very hard to pull all of this off, and as long as the cameras focus on the happy couple, everything will make for the perfect celebration propo.

While Peeta admires her handy work, she soon realizes that there is someone admiring her. Katniss is starring at her in a way Peeta can't explain. Soon the celebrity of District 13 comes to her and grabs her hand. "Lets dance."

They dance along to the playful music and Peeta is amazed to see Katniss smile so large. Eventually Prim joins them and they all dance together. Katniss and Prim laugh and twirl and Peeta lets herself smile as much as she can.

Eventually Prim leaves to go dance with some of the younger guests, but Katniss stays near Peeta's side. "When this is all done," Katniss says in a voice only Peeta can hear, "Gale and I will be getting a divorce." Peeta looks at the brunette confused. "I can't be at his side any longer, and he can't be at mine either. Once the Capitol falls and everything goes back to normal, we will split." They dance in silence for a few more moments. Peeta wishes she could speak, because there is so much she needs to say. "So anyway," Katniss adds, "If you're not seeing anyone then, I uuh…" She stops then, as if suddenly everything has caught up to her. "I have to go find Prim. We'll talk later."

Peeta spends the rest of that night in a daze before she falls asleep.

Enobaria and Peeta live together once they are discharged from the hospital. "Become a soldier with me." is the first thing Enobaria says to her when they move into their new living quarters.

Peeta considers the idea for a week, but finally decides against it. She sympathizes with the Capitol citizens too much. She couldn't imagine killing any of them. To her every citizen is Portia or Effie. They don't deserve what is happening to them. This upsets Enobaria, and Peeta ends up switching rooms.

As the weeks go by everyone seems to be preparing for an attack on the Capitol. Peeta feels slightly guilty, but when she thinks of going in and murdering tons of innocent people, it makes her feel nauseous. So she throws herself into other work. She trains people in things like cooking, she illustrates accurate history books, and she helps out in any way she can short of actually doing anything related to combat.

Weeks pass and soon the soldiers are sent to the Capitol. The whole ordeal feels like it stretches on forever. Peeta spends most of the time with Annie, Effie, Portia, and Prim. In a twisted way, Peeta is reminded of the Hunger Games, watching and waiting to find out who lives and who dies.

When they need help for the injured in the fight at the Capitol, Prim wants to go, but Peeta begs her to stay. With Finnick gone, Annie seems much less stable. And with Effie just barely on the road to recovery, Peeta doesn't know if she can handle everything on her own. After lots of paper being used up for pleas, Prim decides to stay.

A little over a week passes and everything at the Capitol is over. They receive news that all of the victors that went to fight survived. Peeta cries happy tears. Most of the people that stayed behind for the attack now head to the Capitol to help with cleanup. Haymitch, Annie, Portia, Effie, Prim, and Peeta all go to help.

They get to live in Snow's mansion while they are there, which feels so wrong. One of the biggest disappointments to learn is that even with Capitol tech, there is no way to bring Peeta's voice back. So once again she dedicates herself to work, usually ending up in run-down fancy kitchens making food for whoever needs to eat.

Eventually comes the day of Snow's execution. Gale has been chosen to shoot the arrow into him. Peeta thinks it is absolutely ridiculous given that Katniss has always been the mockingjay. But then she thinks of how she herself refuses to kill now and wonders if Katniss is the same. Peeta can't help but think that she might make a special exception to kill Snow.

Portia wakes Peeta and puts her in a beautiful grey dress. All of the victors will be wearing grey today, excluding Gale. He gets to wear black. Peeta's hair is left to flow freely and Portia puts very little makeup on her. "You're so beautiful." Portia says holding her face in her hands.

Effie joins them and they sit and wait for further instruction. Effie almost looks like her old self now, and Peeta hopes that perhaps with help from everyone, one day things really will start to go back to normal.

An hour before the scheduled death, Peeta is collected to go to a room filled with the other victors. Johanna, Enobaria, Beetee, Haymitch, Annie, Finnick, Gale, and Katniss are all there. Enobaria hands Peeta a notepad and a pencil. It's hard to believe that we are all that's left of a 75 year long tradition.

Coin comes in and explains that they are trying to figure out whether or not to hold a final games with Capitol children. A vote of five will determine what they decide. Enobaria, Johanna, and Gale immediately vote for another Hunger Games. Finnick, Annie, and Beetee vote against. All the while Peeta scribbles furiously against her notepad. Katniss shocks Peeta by voting for a Hunger Games, and Haymitch follows her example.

Peeta's vote no longer matters, but she slams her pad down on the table so everyone at least sees what she wrote. "When you reap the children, expect me to volunteer in their place. You will not get the games you want because I will throw myself in front of everything you throw at them until I die."

Coin seems to disregard her note, but the other victors seem to stare at it in a sense of shock. Peeta has volunteered two times in her life already, she's surprised they are shocked at her plans for a third.

Peeta storms out angry. She finds Portia and silently cries on her shoulder. Then the execution ceremony begins. Peeta is surprised when she sees Katniss instead of Gale with the bow.

In a matter of minutes everything is over. A President is dead, but it is not Snow.


	18. Chapter 17

After that, a lot of things happen. President Snow laughs so hard he chokes to death. Gale is found in a supply closet where Katniss left him after she tazed him. Paylor is elected President. Katniss is put on trial and sent to District 12. Gale signs divorce papers and accepts a job in District 2. Annie announces that she is pregnant. Effie and Haymitch move to District 12 together. Portia and Cinna decide to work together to help improve the Capitol. Peeta watches everything happen.

Then she goes back to 12. Despite the destruction, the Victor's Village still stands. All her paintings and artwork are preserved there as if she hadn't left them. She finds her old sketchbook full of drawings of Katniss and she finds paper to write on.

She spends two days working on writing a letter explaining her feelings for the other woman. She starts with that first day when she heard Katniss sing in class. She writes about the bread, the 73rd Hunger Games, the 74th, the wedding, the Quarter Quell, the days of torture where the only thing that kept her sane were the thoughts that Katniss was still alive, and all the time in District 13 where she wished she could be with the other woman. Peeta writes about how she wishes she could still talk to tell her how much she loved Katniss, but says these words on paper will have to do.

Peeta wraps the sketchbook and finds an envelop for the letter. She makes a basket that she fills with some food she has made, before she walks to Katniss's door and leaves it there. Then she goes back to her house, and falls asleep on the small couch in her living room. She wakes to someone pounding on her front door. She answers the door and finds a frantic eyed Katniss with her letter clutched in her hand.

The brunette relaxes when she sees Peeta. They don't exchange any words, but Katniss reaches her arms up and Peeta leans down and they kiss. It's nothing like the kiss in the bakery. It's slow and sweet and everything Peeta had always imagined it would be. When they part to breathe, Katniss's grey eyes look deep into Peeta's and everything feels right.


	19. Chapter 18

Peeta is 22 when she gets married. The wedding of Katniss and Peeta is televised to all of Panem. It is partially because they want to show how well all of the victors are doing after the war, and partially because Caesar threw a giant fit until everyone agreed to it. Portia and Cinna both come out to 12 to prepare the brides.

Before the wedding, they did a big where are they now segment about the victors. Beetee was in the Capitol, working on different projects for the government. His biggest project he was currently working on was restoring the taking abilities for Avoxes.

Enobaria and Gale were both in District Two where they were also working for the government. There wasn't a lot of detail given to what they did, but both seemed content.

Finnick and Annie were in District 4 raising their son Finn and their daughter Maggie. Annie was already pregnant with their next child. Finnick worked as a fisherman, but he spent most of his time with his family.

Johanna had moved back to District 7 where she helped many people rebuild their homes and was now teaching self defense classes. She still seemed just as tough as she had always been, but watching her work with other people so they could learn to protect themselves seemed to make her more human.

Haymitch and Effie were in District 12. The two would probably never get married, but they were living in Haymitch's home together. With Effie's help, Haymitch had finally stopped drinking. Now he spent most of his time with Effie or tending to his garden.

And then there was Katniss and Peeta. They had been together for more than four years now, and Katniss knew she wanted to be with Peeta forever. It was difficult for Peeta to get Katniss to agree to a wedding, because the brunette was afraid that others would judge her because she had been married before. But finally, with encouragement from Prim, they did decide to tie the knot.

When Peeta told Caesar, who she had been writing back and forth to since she left the Capitol for the last time, he demanded it be a big production. That was even harder to convince Katniss of, but eventually she was convinced. Part of the agreement was if Katniss agreed to this, she would be free to travel to other districts again, and that was what helped seal the deal.

The day before the wedding, Peeta kisses Katniss goodbye in the morning and makes her way to the bakery that they have rebuilt. The plan is for neither of them to see each other until the next day when they get married. Katniss has been put in charge of getting all the visitors settled in to where they will be staying. Peeta's job is to make the cake. She makes one big one that is green and looks like the forrest. At the top are two figurines that represent her and Katniss. She also makes 336 cupcakes. Each district, including 13 and the Capitol gets two dozen. They are decorated in ways that make it easy to tell which district they are from.

By the time she finishes frosting everything, it is already night. She makes sure everything is in place for Haymitch who will be helping with the transport and goes home. She hasn't lived in her house in the Victor's Village for more than a year now, but for the sake of staying away from Katniss, she goes there.

Later that night, Katniss shows up anyway. The two make love and cuddle in the bed until midnight. Katiss kisses Peeta, taking her breathe away, and then returns to her home. The blonde is taken back to the night before Katniss's first wedding. This time, on this night, Peeta falls asleep with a smile on her face.

Portia comes to wake Peeta very early the next morning. The prep for Peeta takes a very long time. First is her long blonde hair that is pulled up into an intricate up-do. Portia cuts her bangs into a straight line that frames her face and makes her look beautiful. Her makeup is simple but elegant, making her look like a natural goddess. Her dress is what really takes Peeta's breathe away. The neckline looks as if it is made of little white flowers. The part that covers her chest is a beautiful simple white. Then around the top of her waist is a beautiful silk yellow ribbon that looks identical to the one she went into the 74th games with. The dress from there is like a ball gown, spreading out and making her look like a princess. Her nails are painted white and then she's sent to wait with Caesar.

Caesar talks enough for the both of them, but Peeta can see sadness in his eyes at the fact that Peeta can no longer reply back. Caesar has gotten older, Peeta can see it now. He's the one who will narrate their fairytale wedding, and also the one who will walk Peeta down the aisle when the time comes. And the time does come.

Soon Caesar's arm is looped through hers and they are making their way down the aisle as the older man narrates. "The beautiful Peeta Mellark is with me now," he announces, "Looking like a beautiful princess in her dress." Peeta smiles at every guest who can't seem to take their eyes off her. "Really, everyone must agree that Katniss Everdeen is the luckiest woman in all Panem." Peeta smiles even larger at this. Caesar deposits her at the end of the aisle in front of Sae, who is going to officiate the wedding.

Caesar goes off the take his place as the narrator, close to the cameras and close to the action. He announces as Beetee and Johanna make their way down the aisle. Johanna is wearing more of a smirk than a smile, but whatever Beetee is telling her seems to make her happy. When they get to her, Johanna hands Peeta her bouquet and stand opposite of her a ways away. Beetee is the same distance away but on Peeta's side.

Next come Cinna and Portia who smiles and wave and look absolutely stunning. Portia stands on Peeta's side and Cinna stands on Katniss's. Haymitch and Effie come out then, and Peeta barely recognizes the Capitol woman. Gone is the fancy makeup and large wigs and left is a beautiful natural beauty. She still has all her charm though, smiling at the crowd and looking absolutely radiant. Effie takes her place by Peeta and Haymitch on the other side.

Then Finnick and Annie comes down the aisle. Annie is round with child and Finnick looks like the happiest man in the world. Tottering close behind them are Maggie and Finn who are dropping flower petals down the aisle in big handfuls. When they reach the end, they dumb their baskets out. Annie goes to sit down with the children and Finnick takes his place at Peeta's side.

Peeta is thinking about how amazed she is that everything has played out so well without rehearsal when she sees her. To Peeta, the whole room goes silent and nothing matters but the girl at the end of the aisle. Katniss is wearing a strapless off white cocktail type of wedding dress with a pair of light brown boots, but Peeta barely registers that. Instead she can't stop starring at her face. Her long bangs frame her face perfectly, with her signature braid wrapped over one shoulder. The smile on the other girl's face is beautiful, brightening the whole room.

Prim, now eighteen, is walking Katniss down the aisle. She looks beautiful too, so grown and mature, but Peeta cannot tear her eyes away from the older Everdeen.

Once Katniss makes it to her, the ceremony goes smoothly. Then comes the vows.

Everyone looks towards Katniss, but Peeta pulls a device out of the bouquet Johanna handed her and presses a button. Suddenly Peeta's voice fills the room.

"Katniss," plays the device, "I know this is a shock. With Beetee's help, we made this. I wanted to be able to say how I felt. You are so kind, so strong, everything about you I love. Your gorgeous eyes, the way your smile lights up my whole world, your beautiful soul, your past, your present, your future. I have loved you since the day I met you, and I know I will love you forever." The recording stops.

Katniss smiles with tears in her eyes. "Peeta, when we were little, you saved my life by giving me bread, but more than that, by giving me hope. And then you just kept giving over and over. You went in the games for Prim, then you went again for me, then you saved everyone in District 13. You risked everything over and over to protect me. And I couldn't understand why until I learned about how much you loved me." Katniss pauses. "So now, I wanna spend the rest of my life protecting and loving you."

Moments later they kiss and officially become wives.

The reception goes off as flawlessly as the wedding. Effie is still in tears from the wedding, as is Caesar. The older man keeps trying to collect himself to talk about what's happening at the reception, but he keeps talking about the speeches and getting all choked up again. He ends up finding Beetee to ask about Peeta's speech, and Peeta watches her wife listen to Beetee's explanation as well.

Peeta goes to greet the guests filing in and is very surprised when Gale shows up. His clothes are messed up and he smells like alcohol. When he recognizes Peeta, he shoots her a very dirty look before grabbing her by the arm and dragging her outside.

"Are you kidding me?" He yells. "You realize this is all just a little phase of hers? She'll get tired of you soon enough. I tried giving her space and what she wanted. She just wants to be able to travel the districts freely so she can come back to me. She's using you!" Unable to communicate, Peeta chooses a different way to shut the drunk man up. "You're stupid if you thin-" Peeta's fist crashes into the side of Gale's face, effectively silencing him as he stumbles because of the hit.

He recovers quickly and makes a move to attack Peeta, but Haymitch and Katniss's mom show up. "Go back inside Peeta." Mrs. Everdeen says with a kind smile. "Your wife is looking for you." Peeta goes inside and pretends not to hear the argument that is starting. The first place she stops is the drinks area where she gets some ice for her hand. Katniss finds her and kisses the side of her mouth.

"Our first dance starts in a few minutes." Katniss explains. "You looks beautiful." Peeta smiles and taps Katniss's dress. "I can't take any credit for that, Cinna's a magic worker still. Caesar really is right, I'm the luckiest person in Panem." Peeta shakes her head before she taps herself. Katniss smiles and they kiss again.

During their dance, Katniss starts to cry, and while others panic, Peeta just holds her close. She knows the brunette is probably just feeling overstimulated by everything happening. If Katniss was crying for any other reason Peeta is sure that the shorter girl would tell her.

After that Katniss and Prim get their own dance and everything is wonderful. Next to the floor are all the couples. After that everything seems to blend together. Everyone dances with everyone and all things are wonderful. Finnick dances with almost everyone present and the whole ordeal lasts well past midnight.

Finally with Haymitch's help, the two women are able to escape the reception. They change out of their fancy dresses and into comfortable clothes and walk together in the moonlight back to their home. They fall into bed when they get to their house at the Victor's Village. They kiss and cuddle and fall asleep together. They have the rest of their lives to figure out what they want to do next.


	20. Epilogue

The young ones play in the meadow. There are three that still are young enough to play aimlessly wherever they go. The others are older. They think that it is too silly to run around and play games. But sometimes, if you get them alone with the younger ones, they will play whatever games the little ones wish them to.

Finnick jokes that they are trying to outnumber his large army of children, but he only does it in jest. Peeta's heart is so large, it has enough love for everyone in Panem. For now it is satisfied with five foster children that she and Katniss take care of.

Katniss knew Peeta would be satisfied with just her for the rest of her life, but she couldn't keep Peeta to herself forever. She could see the way Peeta would look at Annie's children and knew she had to find a way for Peeta and her to have children.

The displaced orphans of the war were her answer.

By the time their ten year anniversary comes, Peeta and Katniss have already been foster moms for over a dozen different kids. They love each of them with all their hearts and it is always hard to watch them go off and face the world on their own.

"Katniss!" Peeta yells from the edge of the meadow. "It's time for lunch!"

With Beetee's help, they were able to create a wristlet for Peeta that allows her to speak. Using soundbites from Peeta before she lost her voice, Beetee was able to create a voice box that sounded like her. All Peeta had to do was type in what she wanted said and the wristlet would play the sound.

More often than not, when it was just Katniss and Peeta, she wouldn't use the wristlet. Sitting in silence with Katniss was one of the most relaxing parts of Peeta's life.

On cloudy days, they are each others sun rays, their reason to get up in the morning, their reason to smile, their reason to never stop living and never stop loving.


End file.
